LUKOIL discovers oil offshore Mexico

​LUKOIL discovered an oil field within the Yoti West structure at Block 12 offshore Mexico. The field was discovered after drilling the first exploration well. Preliminary estimates put initial oil in place of 250 million bbl.

Yoti West-1 EXP was drilled 60 km offshore from the Valaris 8505 semisubmersible platform (OGJ Online, Aug. 16, 2021). The well penetrated a sand reservoir in Upper Miocene sediments with high permeability and effective oil-saturated thickness of about 25 m. An assessment plan for Yoti West field is expected to be developed based ​on drilling results.

In 2017, LUKOIL Upstream Mexico obtained exploration and production rights for the 521-sq km Gulf of Mexico block. LUKOIL is operator with 60% interest. Eni holds the remaining 40%.

Two successful exploration wells were previously drilled at Block 10 offshore Mexico where LUKOIL owns 20% and Eni is operator. The resource base of the block is currently being assessed based on drilling results.