Unitization in Mexico’s oil and gas fields
In July, Talos Energy LLC caused a stir in energy policy circles in Mexico when it announced that a reservoir on its block extended into a block held by Pemex. Normally, in such situations, the party into whose lease area the reservoir extends must show that it is commercial and could, in theory, be separately developed. In this case, the parties will negotiate an agreement to “unitize” their efforts, such that certain percentage of the reservoir is assigned to one party and the remainder to the other. This would mean that if Party A has 20% and Party B has 80%, then 20% of oil and gas production in Party B’s area (or anywhere in the unitized area) would be credited to Party A.
In Mexico, there is an ancient superstition about the so-called “Rule of Capture,” and in the Energy Ministry’s Regulatory Impact Statement dated October 12, 2017, it is explicitly stated that this rule is not appropriate in Mexico.
We have completed three reports on this topic:
MEI 858, a bilingual glossary of the terms and definitions used in the Ministry’s “Guidelines on Unitization”
MEI 859, a bilingual presentation of the Regulatory Impact Statement
PPP 10049, a critique of the ideas and data provided in the Impact Statement. We question the wisdom of the Ministry’s claim to be able to impose terms of unitization on the parties.
You may download sample pages from each of these reports below.
MEI 858 Download | MEI 859 Download | PPP 10049 Download
Contact us about accessing the complete reports. Call +1 (832) 434-3928 or email info@energia.com.
