Eni Unveils Major Natural Gas Discovery in Gulf of Mexico
Italy’s supermajor Eni has announced a significant natural gas discovery in the mid-deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, off the Mexican coast.
The new find holds an estimated 300 to 400 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to Eni. The discovery was made in the Sureste Basin, where Eni has already identified over 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent in resources.
Eni plans to develop this area into a “hub development,” leveraging several discoveries in the region.
This news follows a report that Mexico’s wealthiest man, Carlos Slim, is investing $1.2 billion in developing the Lakach gas field offshore, led by state energy major Pemex.
Mexico is actively expanding its gas-powered generation by building new power plants and developing its gas resources to reduce reliance on imports from the United States. The country recently revised its proven oil and gas reserves estimate upwards to 8.383 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
According to the National Hydrocarbons Commission, Mexico’s proven crude oil reserves slightly decreased to 5.978 billion barrels from 6.155 billion barrels the previous year, while proven natural gas reserves increased significantly to 12.297 trillion cubic feet from 11.029 trillion cubic feet.
President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has pledged to boost investments in natural gas generation. Her energy plan aims to add approximately 13.7 GW of new power generation capacity to the grid over the next six years, including solar installations. This year alone, Mexico is set to add 3.3 GW of new capacity from gas and solar sources.
