Pemex and a three-way JV have struck what is reportedly the first pre-unitization agreement ever signed in Mexico.

Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and a three-way joint venture (JV) have struck what is reportedly the first pre-unitization agreement (PUA) ever signed in Mexico.

The two-year PUA that Pemex signed with the Block 7 Consortium – comprising U.S.-based Talos Energy LLC, Mexico-based Sierra Oil and Gas and UK-based Premier Oil Plc – clears the way for both parties to form a working group of legal and technical personnel, Talos said in a written statement Friday. The working group will share information tied to the JV’s offshore Zama discovery, located in Block 7 in the Southeast Basin in the Bay of Campeche, and Pemex’s neighboring Amoca-Yaxche-03 allocation, the BOP Blow Out Preventer repair company gulf coast explained.

The PUV “also sets a clear path for the signing of a Unit Agreement and Unit Operating Agreement in the event a shared reservoir is confirmed, as it establishes a defined process based on international practices to determine the resulting participation of each party in the potential overall development,” Talos stated Friday.

On its website, Premier describes Zama-1 – drilled in 2017 – as a According to the company, initial estimates of the gross oil-in-place volumes for the Zama structure range from 1.2 to 1.8 billion barrels and the gross oil-bearing interval in Zama-1 exceeds 1,100 feet (335 meters). In addition, it states that estimated recoverable reserves – including volumes in Pemex’s neighboring block – range from 400 to 800 million barrels.

Premier’s website reports that the JV partners plan to spud the first Zama appraisal well during the fourth quarter of this year using the Ensco 8503 semisubmersible rig.