Talos loses out on Zama operatorship

Mexican authorities rule in favour of NOC Pemex, raising doubts about the speed to first oil

Mexican state oil company Pemex has been appointed operator of the landmark Zama shallow-water discovery after the country’s energy secretariat, Sener, sided with the NOC over a consortium led by US independent Talos Energy in block seven. The result of the unitisation dispute had been heavily delayed by the pandemic, but an independent survey update in late May suggested the decision could swing Pemex’s way. The revised calculation pointed to a 49.6pc share of the reservoir for the block seven consortium, against 50.4pc for the Mexican NOC. “The problem is Pemex’s financial situation, whether it has the money to push first oil in the short term” Lopez Velarde, Ritch Mueller Before t