Pemex, BP sign deepwater agreement

July 27, 2007
Mexico's state-run Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and BP PLC July 24 signed three technical-scientific cooperation agreements aimed at boosting exploration in deep waters.

Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, July 27 -- Mexico's state-run Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and BP PLC July 24 signed three technical-scientific cooperation agreements aimed at boosting exploration in deep waters.

Signed by Carlos Morales Gil, general director of Pemex Exploracion y Produccion (PEP), and David Peattie, BP's vice-president for Latin America, Canada, and the Caribbean, the documents include:

-- A general technical-scientific accord.

-- An agreement on marine technology that focuses on the geology of deepwater deposits, prospecting, and the attainment of objectives during drilling.

-- A third accord to analyze the potential of an air injection process, which Pemex said could increase recovery of oil by up to 10% in some wells.

Pemex officials have said the company's future depends on development of deepwater resources. Studies by Pemex indicate potential recovery of more than 30 billion bbl of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].