Hok

Location

The Hokchi Oil and Gas Field is situated in the marine part of the Salina del Istmo basin, approximately 30 kilometers off the coast of the Mexican State of Tabasco in the Gulf of Mexico. The field lies at an average water depth of 30 meters and covers an area of 40 kilometers.

Operators and Stakeholders

The field is operated by Hokchi Energy, a subsidiary of Pan American Energy, which holds a 59.4% interest. Other stakeholders include Wintershall Dea with a 37% interest and AINDA with a 3.6% interest.

History and Development

• The Hokchi Block was awarded during Mexico’s licensing round 1.2 in 2015.
• In January 2016, an agreement for the extraction of hydrocarbons under the Shared Production modality was signed between the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) and Hokchi Energy.
• An evaluation campaign was conducted by Hokchi Energy during 2016-2017 to support the design of a development plan.
• In May 2018, the CNH approved a $2.5 billion development plan for the Hokchi field.
• The field was brought on stream in May 2020 following the completion of the appraisal campaign.
• In March 2023, Wintershall Dea completed the acquisition of a 37% non-operated participating interest in the field.

Production and Reserves

• The field is expected to produce 147.8 million barrels of oil and 45.4 trillion cubic feet of gas, with a recovery factor of 37%.
• As of March 2023, the field was producing at a rate of 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (gross), with expectations to increase to 37,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Infrastructure and Facilities

• The Hokchi field was developed as a subsea tie-back of the producing wells to two offshore platforms: Hokchi Central (West Platform) and Hokchi Satellite (East Platform).
• The hydrocarbons recovered by these platforms are transported to a dedicated onshore processing facility, the Hokchi Paraíso Plant, located around 25 kilometers away via pipelines.
• The onshore facility includes systems for oil, gas, and water treatment, water injection, gas compression, electric power generation, and auxiliary services.
• Other land facilities include a measuring station, pipelines connecting the Hokchi Paraíso Plant to the metering station, and connection points with existing PEMEX pipelines.
• The offshore facilities include a 14-inch oil and gas pipeline, a 10-inch injection water duct, and an umbilical cable, among others.
• The two platforms are unmanned, featuring seven production wells and seven injection wells each. The platforms are fixed to the sea floor through piles.

Key Contractors

• The Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract for the shore approaches was awarded to Arendal.
• Sapura Energy Berhad’s wholly owned subsidiary in Mexico received the offshore EPCIC (engineering, procurement, transportation, installation, pre-commissioning, and commissioning) contract for the Hokchi Field Development, which included the fabrication and installation of the central wellhead platform and the satellite platform.

Nearby Discoveries

The Zama, Polok, and Chinwol discoveries are located near the Hokchi block, indicating the potential for further hydrocarbon exploration and development in the area.