“Highly-anticipated” Zama field offshore Mexico reaches key milestone with DORIS FEED contract award
(WO) – Partners Wintershall Dea, Pemex (operator), Talos Energy and Harbour Energy have awarded the Front-End Engineering and Design contract (FEED) for the development of the highly-anticipated Zama oil field offshore Mexico to the French engineering company DORIS.
The FEED work will be based on the scope of the Unit Development Plan approved by the Mexican Hydrocarbon Commission (CNH) last year. It covers the planning of two offshore platforms, 68 km of pipelines and cables as well as a new onshore facility, fully dedicated to the Zama project, located in the Dos Bocas Maritime Terminal, in Paraiso, Tabasco.
The Zama Unit partnership also plans to minimize greenhouse gas intensity by using the best available technology, produced gas for onshore power generation, as well as best use of existing storage and transport infrastructure.
DORIS will collaborate with the two Mexican engineering companies NOMARNA and SUMMUM to carry out the FEED work.
Zama is one of the world's largest shallow water discoveries in the last 20 years and was the first discovery made by an international consortium in Mexico in 2017. With estimated gross resources of 600 to 800 MMboe, Zama is expected to make a significant contribution to Mexico's energy supply over the next 25 years, creating activity that will support the growth of the country's energy sector and generate a large number of jobs in the coming years.
The field is expected to produce up to 180,000 bopd at its peak, which corresponds to around 10% of Mexico's current total oil production.
Once these studies have been finalized, the Zama Unit partnership will proceed with the tendering process of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts, followed by the Final Investment Decision.
“Zama is currently one of the most important energy projects in Mexico and we are very pleased to have reached the next milestone”, says Martin Jungbluth, Managing Director of Wintershall Dea in Mexico. “Our goal is to develop this large field safely, in the most efficient timeline and in the best possible technical way. With DORIS we have a very experienced partner for the FEED phase at our side.”
Wintershall Dea is the second largest shareholder in the Zama field after operator Pemex and holds, according to the Unitisation Resolution from March 2022, an initial participation of 19.83%, while Pemex holds 50.43%, Talos Energy 17.35% and Harbour Energy 12.39%.
