The German oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea has announced a significant oil discovery off the state of Tabasco in Mexico, with estimated reserves ranging between 200 and 300 Mboe (28 to 42 Mt). Wintershall Dea and its partners Harbour Energy and Sapura OMV made the discovery on the Kan exploration prospect in Block 30, located in shallow waters of the Cuenca Salina in the Sureste Basin.
Wintershall Dea is the operator and holds 40% in Block 30, with Harbour Energy and Sapura OMV each holding 30%. The consortium will now evaluate the extensive subsurface data collection in order to prepare the Kan discovery appraisal plan, to be submitted to Mexico’s Hydrocarbon Agency CNH (Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos) before the end of July 2023.
As of end-2021, Mexico had the third largest oil reserves in Latin America, with around 830 Mt (after Venezuela and Brazil) and large conventional gas reserves (201 bcm).