Tim Duncan, founder, president and CEO of Talos Energy, during a panel discussion at CERAweek 2023. He said the Zama development plan would allow Talos to co-lead with Pemex on operating and drilling decisions.Petroleos Mexicanos and Talos Energy have finalized a plan to develop the giant oil field Zama in a deal that will enable Talos and its partners to participate in operational decisions after the Mexican state oil giant was granted operatorship.
The deal is somewhat of a consolation prize for Talos after Mexican authorities granted operatorship of the megafield to Pemex following the discovery that Zama bled into a reservoir owned by the Mexican state oil bohemoth. While Talos had filed a notice of intent to go to arbitration over the decision, claiming it was a breach of the USMCA free trade agreement, the Houston-based driller has since tempered its expectations.
“We will have a hand in the design and execution of everything related to that development plan,” he said. Under the presidency of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico has sought to give Pemex a bigger share of the nation’s oil territory. The president also reversed energy reforms made in 2013 and 2014 by his predecessor that had enabled the Talos-led consortium to make the discovery in the first place.