The government of former President Enrique Peña Nieto granted oil concessions in the northern Gulf of Mexico 150 times larger than those granted by Donald Trump in the same border area, said Fabio Barbosa Cano, researcher at UNAM, during the forum “83rd anniversary of the expropriation of Pemex, past and future.”
The blocks granted by the former president of the United States individually cover 20 square kilometers of said area, while those of Peña range from 1 mile 686.9 km2 up to 2 thousand 976.6 km2. “It was a shame for us because we gave them these great spaces in the sea. Now reform [energética de Peña Nieto] we must call it the reform delivery”, Said the researcher from the Institute for Economic Research.
Likewise, he pointed out that the past federal administration increased the figures for the probability of success of the concessioned areas in order to benefit from tenders and auctions: they were not talking about proven reserves, but about resources to be found (prospective reserves).
The energy expert exemplified the exaggerations in the prospective reserves by the Peñista government with the Etzil-1 oil well – worked together by the companies Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell -: there they determined a 49 percent probability of geological success , in addition, between 200 and 220 million barrels were calculated.
However, Etzil-1 failed and the well was abandoned – sealing it with a 20-ton plug of cement – by the companies in charge, who paid a fine of around 20 million dollars for the return of the concession area.
“I’m pretty sure Etzil-1 was a dry hole. Those who had invested close to 100 million dollars were so furious that they told the government, the Sener [Secretaría de Energía]: ‘Take your condemned block. I’ll give it back to you, ‘”added academic Fabio Barbosa.
Another case, he added, is that of the Ameyali drilling plant, corresponding to the transnational China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which does not have sufficient reports of its production. “I have a theory that the Chinese are cheating us and do not want to report if it has already failed or if they have already suspended it,” he warned.
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