Alarm from Mexico Oil Watchdog
The regulator's chief, Juan Carlos Zepeda, said Petróleos Mexicanos has relatively little experience with deep-water drilling, much less with the ultra-deep wells, exceeding 6,000 feet, that it could tackle as soon as next month. Pemex plans to drill as many as six deep-water wells this year, including the two ultra-deep wells, more than at any time in its history.
Mr. Zepeda said his fledgling National Hydrocarbons Commission also is out of its depth, with a staff of just 60 and a budget of USD7.3 million, about 2% of what its Washington counterpart spent last year.
The Mexican oil company Pemex says it seeks to abide by the commission's rules, and is confident it can tackle the ultra deep-water challenge.
The U.S. Coast Guard said that ist officials and those from the Department of Interior hold regular discussions with Mexico on environmental cooperation, and the countries have a long-standing relationship on oil-spill response.
The mexican agency is reviewing Pemex's plan to drill a prospective site near the U.S. maritime border at 9,000 feet, nearly twice as deep of the Deepwater Horizon's Macondo well.
Pemex, which has reported falling production for seven straight years, has only about 10 years of proven reserves of crude, and is trying to compensate for the decline of its giant Cantarell offshore field, which was discovered in the 1970s.
Pemex considers the deep-water campaign a sign to taking its destiny in its own hands.
