Technology Drives Evolution Of Pemex’s Operations In Perdido Fold Belt
JOURNAL ARTICLE
MEXICO CITY–Petróleos Mexicanos, the national oil company of Mexico, has developed significant deepwater expertise over the past decade from the 30-plus wells it has drilled in water depths up to 9,500 feet. As a result, the company has evolved to innovate and adopt new technologies and processes to optimize investment, reduce costs, and drive project success. Pemex is applying this knowledge to optimize its activities in the ultradeepwater Perdido Fold Belt region of the Gulf of Mexico. The company has made three discoveries on the Mexican side of the Perdido Fold Belt, including one less than 25 miles from U.S. territorial waters, where significant discoveries have been made since the first Perdido Fold Belt test in 2001 in Alaminos Canyon. Those fields include Trident, Great White and Shell’s Perdido, which holds the world water-depth record for a drilling and production platform, and produces from the deepest subsea well (Tobago at 9,627 feet). To date, the Perdido Fold Belt’s reserve discoveries have been made within the Tertiary geological system, specifically the Middle Oligocene Frio, Lower Eocene, and the Lower Paleocene sandstones. The area’s geology is complex, and is surrounded by large canopies of allochthonous salt and hydrocarbon accumulations on the crests of regional anticlinal structures.
