Chicontepec

Chicontepec is the name of a producing hydrocarbon basin, located at the Mexico, in the States of Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo.

The first layer of this zone were known 1926, the production forever be significant and the total resources considerable, are considered at 33 oil equivalent billion barrils. In spite of that, the production forever be only marginal (a few thousands of barrils/days), and layers of the zone are not counted in the reserves of the Pemex. If extra-heavy oil represents large the majority of the reserves, there locally exists lighter oil, and Natural gas.

The reason is that the oil of this area is extremely difficult to exploit: it is mainly very viscous, with the limit of conventional oil, moreover the tanks not very permeable and are very partitionnés. Pemex estimates that to exploit fully the basin (and to leave it a million barril/day) more than 13.000 well are necessary, that is to say more double of the full number of well currently in production in the country.

To the technical difficulties of the exploitation of Chicontepec are added the diffucultés political ones: the zones overhanging the reserves are very inhabited, including by Amerindians.

In spite of these multiple challenges, to exploit Chicontepec is a vital stake for Pemex, which is to face fast declines in other layers, mainly Cantarell.

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