Harbour Energy's Mexico ventures move forward with Kan appraisal drilling

Harbour Energy has begun appraisal drilling of the Kan prospect in the southeast basin of the Gulf of Mexico.

The UK-based oil and gas company had said previously it would start appraisal drilling in Q3 and a company spokesperson confirmed to BNamericas on Wednesday that the work is now underway.

The shallow water field is estimated to hold 200-300Mboe (million barrels of oil equivalent). Kan is located in block 30, about 25km off Mexico's Tabasco coast and in water depths of around 50m. Harbour is studying potential development options for the field. 

Kan was discovered by then-operator Wintershall Dea in 2023. On Tuesday, Harbour closed its US$11.2bn acquisition of assets from Wintershall, including its 40% stake in Kan. As a result, Harbour has increased its stake in Kan from 30% to 70% and is now the operator. Sapura OMV is the other partner.

With the closure of the Wintershall Dea transaction, Harbour has become one of Mexico's leading private sector oil companies. Wintershall Dea was one of the most successful bidders for offshore blocks in Mexico's now suspended bid rounds. 

Harbour says its oil and gas reserves and resources in Mexico are second only to national oil company Pemex. 

Alongside Kan, Harbour's assets in Mexico and its development plans for them include the following:

Zama

The jewel in the crown of Harbour's Mexican portfolio is the shallow water Zama field. Following the Wintershall Dea acquisition, Harbour holds a 32% interest in the field, which contains an estimated 750Mboe. At peak production of 180,000b/d, Zama will produce about 10% of Mexico's oil output.

When it was discovered by US independent Talos Energy in block 7 in 2017, Zama was the first oil discovery to be made by a private sector company in Mexico in decades.

In 2022, the energy ministry controversially appointed Pemex as operator, on the grounds that some of the oil was located in a block assigned to the NOC. Pemex has a 50% share in Zama. Talos Mexico, jointly owned by Talos and by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's Grupo Carso, has a 17.4% stake. Talos sold a 49.9% stake in Talos Mexico to Carso in 2023.

In June, the partners awarded French engineering company Doris the contract for front-end engineering and design (FEED). Once these studies have been finalized, the Zama partners will start tendering the engineering, procurement and construction contracts, followed by a final Investment decision.

Tim Duncan, the then CEO of Talos Energy, said in a Q2 conference call in August that the arrival of Carso as a local content partner in Zama had changed some of the development plans. Updates from the FEED study are expected in H2, he added.

Block 29

Harbour Energy holds a 25% stake in the neighboring Repsol-operated block 29. 

The partners are currently evaluating development options for the deepwater Polok and Chinwol discoveries of 2020. In February, Repsol awarded Doris a contract to design the subsea concept for developing the discoveries.

In July, Italian oil company Eni discovered around 300-400Mboe in the adjacent block 9, where Repsol holds a non-operating 50% interest. Repsol and Eni say that raises the prospect of a hub development, sharing infrastructure across nearby discoveries and cutting costs. 

Ogarrio and Hokchi

Harbour's producing assets in Mexico acquired from Wintershall Dea also include the onshore Ogarrio oilfield. Harbour has a 50% stake and Pemex holds the other 50%. The field produces around 27,000boe/d.

The London-based company also acquired the 37% share in the Hokchi block that Wintershall Dea bought in 2023. The field is operated by Hokchi Energy, a subsidiary of Argentina-based Pan American Energy. It produces about 24,000boe/d.

Finally, Mexico's hydrocarbons commission (CNH) approved the acquisition by Harbour Energy of Wintershall Dea's interests in offshore exploration blocks in the Gulf of Mexico, including three where it is the operator.