VIEW FROM THE TOP
SHALLOW-WATER ACTIVITY TO PICK UP PACE NEAR TERM ALFREDO CARVALLO Director General Mexico of McDermott
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Q: What timeline do you see for the creation of subsea
account that operators just signed the licensing areas
infrastructure on the Mexican side of the Gulf of Mexico?
auctioned in Round 2.1, in 2018, I expect additional players
A: If we look at the beginning of the Energy Reform in 2015,
to start operating their projects.
when the first contracts were awarded for Rounds 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, McDermott was already seeing activity emerging
Deepwater is a different story. I expect that deepwater
from the operators in those areas. Some of the fields are a
operators may do some preliminary drilling from 2018 to
little bit behind but everybody saw the news of the large
2020 and then it will take two to three years for them to
discoveries made by ENI and Talos Energy. Fieldwood has
complete their field development strategies and decide
also completed one of its wells and is in the process of
what they are going to do. I believe we will start seeing
completing the second. The operator’s development plan
some activity on the eight blocks that were licensed
is where McDermott comes into the picture. We are already
in Round 1.4 somewhere between 2021 and 2023. My
seeing the extension of international tenders for 2018 from
perception is that when CNH executes licensing rounds
one of the operators. Another player will probably be
2.4 and 3.1, we will see an acceleration of activity, provided
extending other tenders in the first half of 2018 and then
it can assign a significant percentage of those blocks. That
some exploration contracts will emerge toward the end of
would mean a quick payback for the government and
2018. The activity is already present.
everybody else involved.
Round 2.1 work will be similar to what we saw in Rounds
PEMEX is a little different because I think it will continue
1.1 and 1.2. It is taking the operators two years to evaluate
working with a reduced budget. But, when considering
the fields, to do the drilling and to evaluate what they
all the fields and blocks it can potentially farm out, there
have found. Only then will they potentially enter the
could still be a lot of movement there too. I think there is
development phase. I believe that 2018, 2019 and 2020
going to be steady activity throughout the next five years.
will be years full of activity in shallow waters. Taking into
Mexico is an important market for McDermott.
Abkantun top deck stack, Altamira, Tamaulipas