據石油新聞2020年8月28日墨西哥城報道，荷蘭皇家殼牌公司將對其位于超深水墨西哥灣的其中一個區塊進行勘探計劃中所允許的所有勘探活動，來充分了解該區塊的潛力。

墨西哥國家碳氫化合物委員會(CNH) 8月28日全體一致批準了殼牌公司有關執行所有Xochicalco-1EXP勘探計劃中允許的勘探活動的請求，其中包括鉆取一口補充井和一口側鉆井。Xochicalco-1EXP是一個位于距離墨西哥北部塔毛利帕斯州坦皮科市海岸123英里海域的油田。

殼牌公司技術顧問埃爾南德斯·佩雷斯在8月28日舉行的網絡直播會議上說，殼牌公司將在5英里深處鉆第二口井，設法鉆到Wilcox地層，該地層預計儲量可達5.62億桶油當量。·佩雷斯說，殼牌公司曾在6月份要求進行“這些”活動。

CNH的委員們確認了在該地區進行勘探活動以最終獲得資源的重要性。Alma Porres Luna委員強調了這樣一個事實，即殼牌公司已經決定使用一家當地承包商來開展這些活動。

殼牌公司將使用由總部設在墨西哥的Grupo R建造的Muralla IV半潛式平臺。殼牌公司最初在2019年6月獲得批準的勘探計劃所需費用現在將從1.04億美元增至3.458億美元，因為殼牌公司決定加大勘探鉆井的力度，以更好地了解儲油層。

CNH技術顧問羅德里戈· 費爾南德斯在去年6月該計劃獲得批準時表示，Xochicalco-1EXP油田位于佩爾迪多褶皺帶，該地區以前幾乎沒有進行過勘探活動，而且距離任何現有的基礎設施都很遠，因此在技術上具有挑戰性。

費爾南德斯說，這個包括CNH-R02-L04-AP-PG07/2018合同的區塊的附近只有一個區塊，這個區塊也由殼牌公司擔任作業者。

殼牌公司迄今在墨西哥舉行的數輪招標中贏得了11個區塊，其中9個區塊位于墨西哥灣深水區。

墨西哥國家石油公司(Pemex)在其2019-2023年商業計劃中決定推遲對深水油田的所有投資，將重點放在淺水和陸上油田，以最大限度地提高短期產量。Pemex在其歷史上曾先后共鉆取了50多口深水井，但沒有取得任何成功的成果。

李峻 編譯自 石油新聞

原文如下：

Shell to explore all options to find oil in the Mexican ultra deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Shell will conduct all the activities allowed in the exploration plan for one of its blocks in the ultra deepwater Gulf of Mexico as it seeks to fully understand its potential.

The National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) on Aug. 28 unanimously approved Shell's request to carry out all the permitted activities in the exploration plan for its Xochicalco-1EXP, a field located 123 miles off the coast of the city of Tampico, in the Northern state of Tamaulipas, which include drilling one additional well and a sidetrack.

Shell will drill the second well at depths of five miles trying to reach a Wilcox formation, with prospective reserves of as much as 562 million barrels of oil equivalent, said Israel Hernandez Perez, technical advisor, during a webcast session on Aug. 28. Shell requested "these" activities in June, Hernandez Perez said.

Commissioners acknowledged the importance of having exploration activities in the area to ultimately obtain resources. Commissioner Alma Porres Luna highlighted the fact that Shell has decided to use a local contractor to conduct these activities.

Shell will use the Muralla IV semi-submersible platform, built by Mexico-based Grupo R.

Shell’s exploration plan, which was originally approved in June 2019, will now go from $104 million to $345.8 million, as the company decides to drill more to better understand the reservoir.

Xochicalco is located in the Perdido fold belt, an area with very little prior exploration activity and far from any existing infrastructure, which makes it technically challenging, Rodrigo Hernandez, another technical advisor said in June 2019, when the plan was approved.

The block, included in contract CNH-R02-L04-AP-PG07/2018, has only one other area near by, which is also operated by Shell, Hernandez said.

Shell won 11 blocks during Mexico′s rounds, nine of which are in Mexican deepwaters, making it the company with the biggest exposure to those formations.

Mexico's Pemex, which has drilled over 50 deepwater wells in its history without any successful results, decided in its 2019-2023 business plan to postpone all investments in deepwaters to focus on shallow-waters and onshore fields to maximize its short-term production.