Talos loses out on Zama operatorship
Mexican authorities rule in favour of NOC Pemex, raising doubts about the speed to first oil
Mexican state oil company Pemex has been appointed operator of the landmark Zama shallow-water discovery after the country’s energy secretariat, Sener, sided with the NOC over a consortium led by US independent Talos Energy in block seven. The result of the unitisation dispute had been heavily delayed by the pandemic, but an independent survey update in late May suggested the decision could swing Pemex’s way. The revised calculation pointed to a 49.6pc share of the reservoir for the block seven consortium, against 50.4pc for the Mexican NOC. “The problem is Pemex’s financial situation, whether it has the money to push first oil in the short term” Lopez Velarde, Ritch Mueller Before t
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy






