LUKOY PJSC Lukoil (CE)

By Anthony Harrup

MEXICO CITY-Grupo Carso, the industrial and retail conglomerate controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, agreed to acquire a 50% stake in two Mexican oil fields, stepping up its participation in the country's upstream energy sector.

Carso said late Monday in a filing with the Mexican stock exchange that it will pay $530 million for a unit of Mexico's PetroBal that holds a 50% stake in the Ichalkil and Pokoch fields in the southern Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Campeche state.

The shallow-water fields are located in blocks won in a 2015 Mexican government auction by a consortium formed by Fieldwood Energy and PetroBal under a production-sharing contract. Russia's Lukoil acquired Fieldwood's interest in early 2022.

The fields are currently producing an average of 16,350 barrels of crude oil equivalent a day, Carso said. The reservoirs contain proven and probable reserves of more than 500 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to PetroBal.

Carso's energy businesses include making onshore and offshore platforms, drilling, and natural gas pipelines. The latest deal shores up its presence in the upstream sector.

In September, Carso bought a 49.9% stake in Talos Mexico, a unit of Houston-based Talos Energy, which has a 17.4% interest in the Zama oilfield.

The Zama reservoir, discovered in 2017, lies next to a block assigned to state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos, and in 2021 the Energy Ministry named Pemex as the operator of the joint field, giving it management control of the project despite objections by Talos.

Pemex holds a 50.4% stake in Zama, Wintershall DEA of Germany has 19.8%, and Harbour Energy of the U.K. 12.4%.

The Mexican government auctioned oil blocks following the 2013-2014 overhaul of energy laws to allow private oil exploration and production. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador put a freeze on new oil auctions after taking office in December 2018.

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 19, 2023 07:11 ET (12:11 GMT)

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