French engineering firm Doris Group has scooped the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the $4.5 billion Zama development offshore Mexico. The FEED work will be based on the scope of the Unit Development Plan approved by the Mexican Hydrocarbon Commission (CNH) last year.
The work covers the planning of two offshore platforms, 68 km of pipelines, cables, and a new onshore facility, fully dedicated to the Zama project, located in the Dos Bocas Maritime Terminal, in Paraiso, Tabasco.
The Zama Unit partnership—Pemex, Wintershall Dea, Talos Energy, and Harbour Energy—also plans to minimize greenhouse-gas intensity by using the best available technology, produced gas for onshore power generation, and the best use of existing storage and transport infrastructure.
At the time of approval, the partnership said the first of the planned 29 oil-producing wells (46 total wells) would come on line in 2025.
Doris will collaborate with two Mexican engineering companies, Nomarna and Summum, to carry out the FEED work.
“Zama is currently one of the most important energy projects in Mexico, and we are very pleased to have reached the next milestone,” said Martin Jungbluth, managing director of Wintershall Dea in Mexico. “Our goal is to develop this large field safely, in the most efficient timeline, and in the best possible technical way. With Doris we have a very experienced partner for the FEED phase at our side.”
Zama is one of the world’s largest shallow-water discoveries in the past 20 years and was the first discovery made by an international consortium in Mexico in 2017. With estimated gross resources of 600 to 800 million BOE, Zama is expected to make a significant contribution to Mexico’s energy supply over the next 25 years. The field is expected to produce up to 180,000 B/D of oil at its peak, which equals around 10% of Mexico’s current total oil production.
“The award of the FEED is a great result thanks to the good cooperation in our Integrated Project Team (IPT), in which colleagues from all four Zama partner companies work together on this extensive and important key project every day,” said Sylvain Petiteau, vice president, Zama Project for Wintershall Dea.
Once these studies have been finalized, the Zama Unit partnership will proceed with the tendering process of the engineering, procurement, and construction contracts, followed by a final investment decision.
Wintershall Dea is the second-largest shareholder in the Zama field after operator Pemex and holds, according to the Unitization Resolution from March 2022, an initial participation of 19.83%, while Pemex holds 50.43%, Talos Energy 17.35%, and Harbour Energy 12.39%.
