Wintershall DEA expands presence in Mexico

Germany’s Wintershall Dea has signed an agreement with Hokchi Energy, the Mexican subsidiary of Pan American Energy, to acquire a 37 percent non-operated participating interest in the Hokchi Block, to become the second-largest interest holder in the block.

There is also a conditional option for Wintershall Dea to increase its participation up to 40 percent at a later stage.

Thilo Wieland, member of Wintershall Dea’s Management Board responsible for Latin America, emphasises: “Mexico is a growth country for Wintershall Dea, and the acquisition of the Hokchi Block interest is a clear sign of this. With Hokchi, we are gaining a producing asset that fully meets our strategic requirements, also in terms of efficiency and emissions. We are excited about continuing and further expanding our partnership with Hokchi Energy and its shareholder Pan American Energy.”

The Hokchi Block was awarded in Mexico’s licensing round 1.2 and is operated by Hokchi Energy. The shallow-water block is developed as a subsea tie-back to two offshore platforms, Satellite and Central, and was brought on-stream in May 2020 following an appraisal campaign.

The deal is subject to obtaining government approvals, including from Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (CNH) and antitrust agency (COFECE) and is expected to be closed before the end of the first quarter 2023.

The block currently produces around 26,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day with a planned ramp-up to a gross production of 37,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2023.

Martin Jungbluth, Managing Director of Wintershall Dea in Mexico, underlines the importance of this new asset: “The Hokchi Block is located in the Sureste Basin, where we already have a strong portfolio of promising licences and which is therefore familiar to us. It’s near our Zama, Polok and Chinwol discoveries as well as our own operated exploration block 30. We are looking forward to contributing our expertise and working together with the operator to efficiently and safely produce the Hokchi Block.”