© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
By Natalie Posgate
(June 23) – A group of Texas lawyers from Mayer Brown and Thompson & Knight led successful bids by two companies that plan to share rights gained at an auction for the exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons in blocks the shallow water areas of Mexico.
This week’s auction is the most recent round of bids since Mexico began reform in late 2013, which opened up the opportunity for foreign competitors to enter Mexico’s energy market for the first time in 75 years.
Houston Mayer Brown partner Pablo Ferrante led a bid for Ecopetrol S.A., Colombia’s state-owned oil company that scored two shallow water oil blocks in Mexico. He received assistance from Mexico City associate Jessica Solis.
Houston and Mexico City-based Thompson & Knight partners Luis Gomar and Luis Moreno led a successful bid for Malaysian oil firm Petronas’ Mexican affiliate, Petronas Carigali. They received assistance from Mexico City associate Roxana Burciaga and paralegal Juan Riestra.
Ecopetrol and Petronas will share rights to operate in Block 6, which is located off the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz and includes estimated prospective resources of up to 516 million barrels of oil across 216 square miles.
Ecopetrol also secured the winning bid for Block 8, which is located offshore the state of Tabasco. It covers 586 kilometers. Ecopetrol will share its Block 8 winning bid with Mexico’s state-owned energy company, Pemex.
Both firms have a history representing their clients. Mayer Brown previously represented Ecopetrol in a joint venture with Anadarko Colombia for the exploration and development of Fuerte Norte, Fuerte Sur and other Colombian offshore oil and gas blocks in the Caribbean.
T&K represented Petronas last year when when the company won two deepwater blocks in the Salina Basin in the debut of Mexico’s historic energy reform.
Monday’s “Bid Round 2.1,” as it’s called, was conducted by the National Hydrocarbons Commission of Mexico. Escopetrol and Petronas were among a group of foreign energy companies that won project bids. Others included Russia’s Lukoil, Spain’s Repsol SA and Scotland’s Capricorn Energy (a subsidiary of Cairn Energy).
Is the name implies, the most recent auction is part of the second round of bids since Mexico began reform in late 2013, which opened up the opportunity for foreign competitors to enter Mexico’s energy market for the first time in 75 years.
© 2017 The Texas Lawbook. Content of The Texas Lawbook is controlled and protected by specific licensing agreements with our subscribers and under federal copyright laws. Any distribution of this content without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.
If you see any inaccuracy in any article in The Texas Lawbook, please contact us. Our goal is content that is 100% true and accurate. Thank you.