Mexican state-owned Pemex has handed a mixed contract for the onshore Macavil oil and gas field to a company controlled by Carlos Slim, according to three people familiar with the matter. Under this partnership arrangement, Pemex will maintain a minimum 40% interest in the project.
The Macavil award follows a string of similar mixed contracts Pemex granted in mid-December. Pemex had intended to issue 11 such contracts last year, but overall interest has been limited and the model has not attracted major international operators.
Sources said the name of the Slim-controlled company set to receive the Macavil contract and the contract's monetary value could not be determined. One source indicated the agreement was signed last week. Pemex and a spokesperson for Slim did not respond to requests for comment.
Field reserves and production targets
Macavil's reported proven reserves include 7 million barrels of condensate and 73 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas. Possible reserves at the field are listed as 34 million barrels of condensate and 409 bcf of gas.
A project document reviewed by the reporting outlet sets a joint-venture goal of producing a cumulative 27.5 million barrels of oil and 393 bcf of gas by 2045.
Pemex's strategic business plan for the coming five years forecasts that crude production at Macavil would reach a peak of 14,000 barrels per day in 2028.
Slim's expanding ties with Pemex and other energy moves
The Macavil award is another step in billionaire Carlos Slim's expanding involvement in Mexico's energy industry. His companies already have a range of existing and announced arrangements with Pemex and other partners.
In September, Grupo Carso agreed to finance drilling of up to 32 wells at the Ixachi onshore field, which is described as the country's most important known gas deposit. Through Talos Mexico, a subsidiary of Talos Energy, Slim's interests have also joined with Pemex and Harbour Energy in the Zama offshore oil field.
In 2024, Carso signed an agreement to partner with Pemex on the Lakach deepwater gas project, aiming to revive a plan that had been abandoned twice earlier because of high costs; later, in October, the company said it was reviewing the project's viability.
Beyond deals linked directly with Pemex, Slim is broadening his energy footprint. In mid-January, Carso announced the purchase of a Lukoil subsidiary to obtain full control of the Ichalkil and Pokoch fields.
Note on reporting: Several details in this article are based on information provided by sources with direct knowledge of the contracts and on project documentation made available to the reporting outlet. Some commercial details and the identity of the recipient company were not publicly disclosed at the time of reporting.