Pemex's Corindon-Pandura bidding falls flat

Mexico's state oil company Pemex did not receive bids Wednesday (November 5) for the Corindon-Pandura block of the Burgos natural gas basin, and will evaluate re-launching tenders, the company announced. Spanish oil company Repsol YPF and France's Total were the only two companies that bought bidding rules, a source with Pemex Exploracion y Produccion told BNamericas. Repsol YPF decided to focus on its US$2.44bn contract to develop the Reynosa-Monterrey block it already picked up in the Burgos bidding rather than continue competing, Pemex said. Total has not yet explained its decision not to submit offers, the source added. MSCs are designed to attract US$10bn in investment and double natural gas production to 2 billion cubic feet a day by 2007. Pemex aims to conduct "a series of workshops" to re-examine technical data as well as terms and conditions offered for Corindon-Pandura, which covers some 3,200 sq. km. The company will then decide whether to re-launch bidding, it said. Pemex aims to award the Ricos block next week (November 13) followed by Fronterizo and Olmos (both November 19). All contracts will be finalized by end-2003.