Mexico—zero to hero
A string of successful auctions has set the stage for an exploration boom in Mexican waters
Mexico's energy reforms are opening vast areas of the country to explorers, and if early results are any guide it may prove to be fertile hunting grounds. The first post-reform exploration well in Mexico was a blockbuster. A consortium led by Gulf of Mexico specialist Talos Energy found as much as 2bn barrels in place at its shallow-water Zama-1 well in a lightly explored area of the Sureste Basin. It is likely one of the three largest offshore discoveries in the world over the past five years, comparable to ExxonMobil's Liza find off Guyana's coast. Unlike Guyana and other frontier areas, however, Zama is near shore in a country with an already developed oil and gas infrastructure, reducing
Also in this section
24 February 2025
Weighed down by higher costs and lower margins, the US downstream sector is facing closures that could shrink capacity
21 February 2025
While large-scale planned LNG schemes in sub-Saharan Africa have faced fresh problems, FLNG projects are stepping into that space
20 February 2025
Greater social mobility means increased global demand for refined fuels and petrochemical products, with Asia leading the way in the expansion of refining capacity
19 February 2025
The EU would do well to ease its gas storage requirements to avoid heavy purchase costs this summer, with the targets having created market distortion while giving sellers a significant advantage over buyers
