Mexico News

Norway's Statoil is considering whether to end its costly search for oil and gas in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the company's exploration chief told financial daily Dagens Naeringsliv (DN) on Friday. Statoil has been part of several discoveries in the region as a junior licence partner, but the company has failed to strike oil in the drilling campaigns it has operated, despite spending billions of dollars. "Even if the fields we have are paying off, the Statoil-operated exploration campaign could so far be characterised as a failure," Tim Dodson told DN.

Maersk Line saw a 21 percent jump in cargo volumes in Mexico between January and October 2016 compared with the year-earlier period, says a report by T21. Mexico is expected to be one of the main beneficiaries of the newly expanded Panama Canal and its infrastructure is undergoing a major transformation in order to enable it to benefit from increasing trade. One of the most notable achievements of the shipping company in Mexico is the launch of the direct service between Mexico and Japan (Yokohama)…

The U.S. Coast Guard said an oil production platform has caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico, roughly 80 miles southwest of Grand Isle, La. The fire, which broke out aboard the Ship Shoal 266 A oil production platform at approximately 2:30 a.m. Thursday, was reported to have been full extinguished by approximately 5:50 a.m., according to the rig’s owner Renaissance Offshore. There were four crew members aboard the platform who, after initial efforts to extinguish the fire, evacuated into the water aboard a life raft and were recovered by the offshore supply vessel Mary Wyatt Milano…

Mexico's economy minister said his country was ready to renegotiate trade rules with the United States and that any change in U.S. tax policy that affected imports would have to be countered with a "mirror action" in Mexico. U.S. President Donald Trump told a meeting with U.S. executives on Monday that companies would face a "major border tax" if they shifted jobs outside the United States. Such a measure could affect Mexico's exports to the United States, its top trading partner. "If there is any action that punishes imports to the North American market and encourages U.S. exports, you have to reflect it in a mirror action to counteract the change of incentives that this would make for activity and investment in Mexico…

BHP Billiton has announced that the Board has approved expenditure of US$2.2 billion for its share of the development of the Mad Dog Phase 2 project in the Gulf of Mexico. BHP Billiton holds a 23.9 per cent participating interest in the Mad Dog field. BP, the operator, holds a 60.5 per cent participating interest, and Union Oil Company of California, an affiliate of Chevron U.S.A. Inc., holds the remaining 15.6 per cent participating interest. During the fourth quarter of 2016, BP sanctioned the Mad Dog Phase 2 project.

APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico’s largest semi-automated terminal, received its first official vessel call today with the arrival of the 9,600 TEU capacity Maersk Salalah on the AC2 Transpacific service from Asia. “This is a milestone as we add an additional operational terminal to our portfolio. A priority for us is to transition terminals under implementation into operation, and make them as efficient as possible to support our customers.” said Morten H. Engelstoft, CEO of APM Terminals.

Royal Dutch Shell has given the go-ahead to develop its Kaikias deepwater field in the Gulf of Mexico, the first such project the oil and gas company has approved in 18 months. Oil companies around the world are emerging from one of the longest downturns in recent decades amid warnings that the drop in investment in recent years may lead to a supply deficit by the end of the decade. Shell said the Kaikias oil and gas project, located some 210 kilometres (130 miles) from the Louisiana coast, will start production in 2019 and generate profits with oil prices lower than $40 a barrel after the company slashed its costs by around 50 percent due to simplified design plans. Oil prices were around $56 a barrel on Tuesday.

BHP Billiton has advanced its exploration and production interests in the Gulf of Mexico by executing a contract with PEMEX Exploration & Production Mexico (Pemex) to complete work on the significant Trion discovery in Mexico. In December 2016, BHP Billiton successfully bid on the resource that, once fully appraised, is expected to be in the top 10 fields discovered in the Gulf of Mexico in the last decade. The agreement includes a commitment to deliver a Minimum Work Program, which consists of drilling one appraisal well, one exploration well and the acquisition of additional seismic data.

Subsea 7 said it was awarded a contract by BP as part of the deepwater Mad Dog 2 development, located approximately 190 miles south of New Orleans. The contract scope covers engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of the subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) and associated subsea architecture. Subsea 7 has worked closely with BP to deliver a lump sum integrated solution from design through to supply, installation and commissioning. Furthermore, by collaborating with OneSubsea, a Schlumberger company, our Subsea Integration Alliance partner that has been awarded the Subsea Production Systems (SPS) contract, additional areas of cost improvement have been identified to provide greater cost certainty and reduced risk.

Damen congratulates Reylaver on the safe arrival and naming ceremony of the new ASD Tug 2411 Jesus. In order to reach her owners, the vessel undertook, on her own keel, a significant voyage covering 10,500 nautical miles. Reylaver ordered the new vessel from Damen Shipyards Group in April 2015. After a successful construction phase at Damen Shipyards Changde, she made a major journey starting in Shanghai, via Japan to Dutch Harbor in Alaska, through the Panama Canal, all under her own keel, finally arriving Veracruz, Mexico on 9 June.

Tropical storm Earl whipped Belize with wind and heavy rain as it weakened, moving into Guatemala toward southeastern Mexico on Thursday after hundreds of people took shelter overnight. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said at 1200 GMT that Earl had maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour (105 km per hour) as it churned about 90 miles (145 km) west of Belize City. Earl had been a hurricane overnight. Late Wednesday, over 1,000 people were in shelters in Belize City, according to Philip Willoughby, who is in charge of the city's emergency management. Dozens of people were also evacuated in Honduras on Wednesday, the government said. As it moves west, Earl is expected to weaken to a tropical depression later Thursday or by Friday morning, the NHC said.

Tropical Storm Earl moved inland early on Saturday over southeastern Mexico where torrential rains could produce deadly flash floods and mudslides, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The storm with winds of 50 mph (80 kmh) was about 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Veracruz, Mexico as it headed west at 9 mph (15 km), the Miami-based center said in an advisory late on Friday night. The center said Earl would weaken as it moved inland throughout the day on Saturday, but could…

Six people died in eastern Mexico on Saturday after they were buried in landslides caused by intense rainfall from the remnants of now-downgraded Tropical Storm Earl, an emergency services official said. The six deaths involved two separate families in eastern Veracruz state, emergency services spokesman Manuel Escalera said. He added that local authorities were continuing to monitor rising rivers and saturated soil that could trigger additional landslides. Earl's maximum wind speed dropped to 30 mph (48 kmh) by Saturday afternoon, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

Tropical Storm Javier formed off of Mexico's Pacific coast on Sunday, unleashing intense winds amid expectations it will churn north toward Baja California and the beach resort of Los Cabos, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Javier was producing maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour (72 km per hour), and was located some 110 miles (177 km) west of the port of Manzanillo. "The center of (Javier) should pass offshore of the southwest coast of Mexico today, and approach the southern portion of the Baja California peninsula on Monday…

Tropical Storm Javier lost a little strength on Monday evening as it traveled towards the southern part of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The storm was moving northwest at 5 mph (8 kph) and had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (97 kph), the NHC said. "A weakening trend is forecast to begin by Tuesday afternoon," it said, adding that Javier was about 30 miles (48 km) south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas, a popular getaway for U.S. visitors on the peninsula. The NHC had earlier reported that the Mexican government discontinued a hurricane warning for Baja California, after the storm failed to pick up strength on its path northward.

South Korea’s Kogas  (Korea Gas Corporation) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Mexican state of Yucatan to construct an liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and gas pipelines that would be worth up to $1.5 billion in a package deal. The LNG terminal will be built in the port city of Progreso in Yucatan, and gas pipe lines will be installed between the terminal to cities such as Merida and Cancun to supply LNG gas. The project is expected to be worth in between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. The MOU was signed August 9 by Kogas’ president and the governor of the state.

Hurricane Newton barreled up Mexico's Baja California peninsula tourist haven on Tuesday, dumping heavy rains as winds whipped, but there were no immediate reports of major damage. The category 1 hurricane hit the resort of Cabo San Lucas early on Tuesday morning, and then headed north, with the eye of the storm over the south of the peninsula. It is currently low season, and hotels popular with American tourists were not full, staff said. The storm lay around 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Cabo San Lucas, with maximum sustained winds blew at 90 mph (144 km), the U.S.

Hurricane Paine formed in the Pacific more than 300 miles off the coast of Mexico early on Monday and is forecast to begin weakening later in the day, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Mexico has no coastal warnings in effect for Paine, which is expected to weaken substantially before it hits the upper portion of the Baja California peninsula by early Thursday, the Miami-based center said. At 0900 GMT, Paine was 340 miles (547 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, blowing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (121 kilometers per hour) and moving northwest at 15 mph (24 kph), the NHC said. According to the NHC forecasts, the storm will gradually arc toward land over the next day or two, and be a tropical depression by the time it reaches the coast.

A fire broke out on an oil tanker of Mexican state oil company Pemex in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, forcing all the crew to be evacuated in the latest accident to plague the struggling firm. The blaze on the tanker "Burgos" occurred off the coast of Boca del Rio in Veracruz state and all the crew were safe, Pemex said in a tweet. Mexico's Navy said there were 31 crew members and that all had returned to port. Images tweeted by Pemex showed the vessel giving off plumes of smoke as another boat hosed the tanker. Early on Saturday evening, Pemex said that firefighting teams were still working to put out the blaze. The tanker was carrying 80,000 barrels of diesel and 70,000 barrels of gasoline, Mexicos Communications and Transport Ministry said.

Sea Trucks Group has secured a charter for the Jascon 31 from Permaducto S.A. de C.V. (Protexa) for the provision of Accommodation and Heavy Lift services in the Gulf of Mexico. Sea Trucks will provide accommodation and lifting services in support of repair works at Pemex Line 221 at the Abkatun-A Platform in the Abkatun field in the Gulf of Mexico for a period of 50 days. After completion Sea Trucks will provide similar services at Pemex Lines 63a and 65 in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap Field for a period of 42 days plus options.

Statoil was awarded blocks 1 and 3 in the Saline Basin in the Deepwater exploration tender in the Mexican Round 1. The blocks cover an area of about 5,650 km2 (18,500 square miles) in the largely unexplored deepwater areas of the Saline Basin. Statoil will be the operator of blocks 1 and 3, at 33.4% equity, with partners BP and Total participating equally with the remaining equity. The licences were awarded in a competitive bid round. A total of 10 deepwater blocks were on offer, with four in the Perdido Area and six in the Saline Basin.

Sole standalone in a sea of tiebacks: BP's Mad Dog is the only major final investment decision (FID)  in deepwater Gulf of Mexico this year, says Wood Mackenzie. On 1 December 2016, BP (60.5% and operator) sanctioned the Mad Dog Phase II development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GoM). BP and partners BHP Billiton (23.9%) and Chevron (15.6%) operate the Mad Dog field, which began production in January 2005. The second phase commercialises southern segments of the field that were discovered in 2009 and 2011.

U.S. Gulf Coast refiners are cashing in on rising fuel demand from Mexico, shipping record volumes to a southern neighbor that has failed to expand its refining network to supply a fast-growing economy. The fuel trade could top a million barrels per day (bpd) at times in 2017 as Mexico becomes increasingly dependent on the United States for strategic energy supplies and providing business worth more than $15 billion a year to refiners such as Valero, Marathon Petroleum and Citgo Petroleum.