Pemex plans Ku-Maloob-Zaap fields subsea pipelines

July 24, 2008
Petroleos Mexicanos plans to start building two new pipelines—one oil and one natural gas—in October at the Ku-Maloob-Zaap group of offshore oil and gas fields.

Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, July 24 -- Petroleos Mexicanos plans to start building two new pipelines—one oil and one natural gas—in October at the Ku-Maloob-Zaap group of offshore oil and gas fields.

Pemex said the oil pipeline will extend for 2.1 km, while the gas pipeline will be 0.5 km long, expanding the existing network of pipelines at the fields.

Five pipeline firms—Global Offshore Mexico, Condux, Demar Instaladora y Constructora, Hoc Offshore, and Oceanografia—have purchased bidding rules for the project. Registered bidders have until Sept. 10 to submit proposals. The project is expected to last 270 days.

On Mar. 30, Pemex subsidiary Pemex Exploracion y Produccion (PEP) achieved a record 701,000 bbl of production from the Ku-Maloob-Zaap project, according to PEP's deputy planning and evaluation director Vinicio Suro.

He said the production level reflected PEP's drilling of new wells during the quarter, completing three development wells and 13 major and minor workovers at Ku-Maloob-Zaap.

The Ku-Maloob-Zaap project averaged some 665,952 b/d in the first quarter of this year, according to the Mexican energy ministry. During the period, the Ku field accounted for 360,248 b/d, the Maloob field produced 196,846 b/d, and the Zaap field made up the remaining 98,858 b/d.

But Pemex wants improved performance and in February announced plans to invest 16.1 billion pesos in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap project through 2008.

Pemex Exploración y Producción, Northeast Marine Region in March awarded Houston-based McDermott International Inc. subsidiary J. Ray McDermott SA a contract for fabrication of the Maloob-C Drilling Platform.

The project is in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap field in the Bay of Campeche, Mexico, in 269 ft of water.

Designed to sustain 18 wells, the drilling platform will have a 3,200-ton, eight-legged jacket and a two-level deck weighing just over 2,500 tons, with more than 3,300 tons of piles. The contract is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2009.

Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].