Cantarell is Mexico's largest oil producing complex. It accounts for about 40% of the country's oil ouput.
Cantarell is currently undergoing a major expansion that will include EOR and start of gas and NGL production.
Latest contract
Pemex has let a number of contracts for the Cantarell expansion in recent months. In this latest move, Pemex Exploración y Producción (PEP) let a $250 million natural gas compression contract to a group led by Westcoast Energy Inc., Vancouver, B.C.The group consists of: Westcoast 45%, Marubeni Corp. 30%, Marubeni America Corp. 15%, and Grupo Consorcio de Fabricaciones y Construcciones SA de CV 10%. It will build and operate a 250 MMcfd offshore gas compression and liquids recovery facility.
The compression and recovery platform will be near Akal-GR platform in the Bay of Campeche (see map, this page). It will include: three 25,000-hp GE gas turbines with Nuovo Pignone compressors; liquids dehydration, separation, and recovery facilities; interconnection with the adjacent Pemex production platform; and support systems such as power supply, water treatment, and accommodations.
The contract is for 5 years of gas compression services. Westcoast will operate the plant after start-up-slated for late in 1999-and return the recovered gas and NGL to PEP.
Under terms of the contract, PEP will provide natural gas feed to the Westcoast-led group on a pass-through basis, up to an agreed daily maximum. PEP is committed to pay fixed-capacity charges, in U.S. dollars, on a take-or-pay basis. An additional operations and maintenance charge will be assessed to PEP.
Raw, sour gas at 35 psig pressure will be delivered to Westcoast for compression. The processed, compressed gas will be returned to PEP at a pressure of more than 1,100 psig.
The project will help Pemex recover Cantarell natural gas for delivery to the Mexican national pipeline system, says Westcoast, which is also a member of the consortium that will supply nitrogen for injection as part of the Cantarell EOR project.
Pemex had been considering reinjecting Cantarell's associated sour gas but has apparently decided to sell the gas instead. Mexico's gas demand is growing as a result of, among other things, increased use in power generation and in a residential gas grid that is expanding because of a downstream gas privatization push currently gathering steam.
Cantarell project
The $5 billion Cantarell expansion project will use nitrogen injection to boost oil production to 2 million b/d from the current 1.24 million b/d (OGJ, Oct. 20, 1997, p. 38). The project involves installation of two drilling platforms, three compression platforms, two injection platforms, and two accommodation platforms.A 1.2 bcfd nitrogen plant is being built at Atasta near Ciudad del Carmen by an international consortium. The group that won the nitrogen supply contract consists of BOC Gases 30%, Marubeni Corp. 30%, Westcoast Energy Inc. 20%, Linde AG 10%, and ICA Fluor Daniel SRL de CV 10%.
They will jointly build, own, and operate the $1 billion plant and supply nitrogen to PEP under a 15-year contract. The first train of the nitrogen plant will start up in April 2000, the other three trains in January 2001.
The nitrogen will be transported to the injection point through a 95-km, 36-in. pipeline, designed and operated by Westcoast.
Pemex let contracts for Cantarell's two gas processing platforms last December (OGJ, Dec. 22, 1997, p. 30) and a contract for a production platform with gas treating facilities in June (OGJ, July 6, 1998, p. 40). A $4 million pipelay contract was let to Bufete de Infrastructura Maritima Mexicana SA de CV just last month (OGJ, Aug. 3, 1998, p. 30).
The new production platform is scheduled to start operations in August 2000, and the compression platform in October 2000.
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