Germany’s Wintershall Dea has announced a major discovery offshore Mexico that may hold between 200 million and 300 million barrels of oil equivalent.
The Kan-1EXP discovery was made in Block 30 in the shallow-water section of the Sureste basin. Wintershall Dea operates the licence with a 40% stake and is partnered by Harbour Energy and Sapura OMV on 30% each.
“This important discovery at Wintershall Dea’s first own-operated exploration well offshore Mexico is a great success,” said Wintershall Dea chief technology officer Hugo Dijkgraaf.
“It is a significant step to extending our footprint in Mexico contributing to the development of a potential new hub in the shallow waters of the Sureste basin.”
Wintershall Dea originally saw a resource potential of 78.5 million barrels of oil equivalent at Kan-1EXP with a 40% probability of success.
The well was drilled by the Borr Drilling jack-up rig Borr Ran and reached a total depth of 3317 metres. It found more than 170 metres net pay sandstones of Upper Miocene reservoirs in water depths of around 50 metres.
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The Borr Ran has now moved to spud a second well at Block 30, the Ix-1EXP prospect, located about 20 kilometres north-east of Kan-1EXP.
Besides the Kan-1EXP discovery, Wintershall Dea is participating in the Zama development and has a significant stake in the producing Hokchi field offshore Mexico.
The Wintershall Dea-lead consortium in Block 30 will now evaluate subsurface data to prepare a discovery appraisal plan, which is expected to be submitted to Mexico’s hydrocarbons regulator CNH before the end of July.