Russia’s Lukoil and Italy’s Eni have signed a farm-out agreement on Blocks 10, 12 and 14 in the Mexico’s shallow waters.
The agreement enables Lukoil to expand exploration portfolio in the region, diversify risks and build up exploration competencies, Lukoil explained in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the agreement, Lukoil will assign 40% in Block 12 to Eni, retain the remaining 60% stake and remain the operator of the project. In its turn, Eni will assign 20% in Block 10 and 20% in Block 14 to Lukoil, and remain the operator of both projects.
The objective of the deal, in light of the close proximity of the blocks, is to diversify the exploration risks, accessing wider opportunities and increasing mutual operational synergies, Eni said in a separate statement on Tuesday.
The deal is subject to the approval by the National Hydrocarbons Commission of Mexico.
Blocks 10, 12 and 14 are located in the promising Sureste Basin in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Lukoil and Eni were awarded the licenses for the blocks in 2017 in the result of the licensing Round 2.1. Eni said that the exploration drilling campaign is planned to start as early as mid-2019.
In March 2018, Lukoil and Eni were awarded rights to Block 28 in the Sureste Basin as the outcome of the licensing Round 3.1. Lukoil received a 25% stake, whereas Eni was awarded 75% and became the operator of the project.