Woodside and PEMEX Open Door to Broader Deepwater Partnership in Mexico

Woodside Energy and Petróleos Mexicanos have taken an initial step toward a broader relationship in Mexico, signing a nonbinding memorandum of understanding focused on potential oil and gas opportunities.

The agreement creates a framework for the companies to examine projects beyond their existing Trion development.

The memorandum will support analysis of possible hydrocarbon exploration and extraction opportunities in Mexico’s deepwater areas.

Woodside and PEMEX announced the agreement in a release issued September 3.

Technical cooperation is also central to the arrangement.

The companies intend to exchange operational knowledge, industry experience, and established practices that could improve the planning and execution of complex offshore developments.

The agreement does not commit either company to a specific investment or development schedule.

Instead, it opens a formal channel for evaluating resources, technical requirements, commercial conditions, and potential areas of cooperation within Mexico’s offshore sector.

Woodside and PEMEX already have a major working relationship through the Trion oil project.

The development is located about 180 km from the Mexican coastline and roughly 30 km south of the maritime boundary between the United States and Mexico.

Trion lies within the Perdido Fold Belt, one of the most technically demanding deepwater regions in the Gulf of Mexico.

Water depths across the project area range from approximately 2,500 to 2,600 m, requiring sophisticated subsea systems and specialized offshore infrastructure.

As of June 30, 2026, Trion was about 64 percent complete. The project represents Mexico’s first ultra deepwater oil development and is expected to establish important technical and operational experience for future projects in similarly challenging environments.

Development plans call for 24 subsea wells linked to a new floating production unit named Tláloc.

The facility is designed to process as much as 100,000 b/d, providing the central production hub for oil and gas recovered from the field.

Produced liquids will be handled through a floating storage and offloading unit named Chalchi.

That vessel will have storage capacity of about 950,000 bbl, allowing crude to be accumulated offshore before being transferred for transportation to market.

The integrated production and storage configuration is intended to support operations far from existing coastal infrastructure.

Such an arrangement reduces dependence on immediate pipeline access while providing flexibility for crude handling and export logistics.

Trion carries an estimated total capital investment of $7.2 billion, making it one of Mexico’s most significant offshore energy developments.

First oil is targeted for 2028, placing execution discipline and offshore construction progress at the center of the partners’ near term priorities.

The development is targeting 479 million boe of best estimate contingent oil and gas resources, classified as 2C.

Converting that resource base into producing reserves will depend on successful project delivery, well performance, facility commissioning, and sustained operational reliability.

Woodside serves as operator and holds a 60 percent interest in Trion. PEMEX owns the remaining 40 percent, giving Mexico’s national oil company a substantial position in a project that could shape the country’s future deepwater capabilities.

PEMEX discovered Trion field in 2012, but the scale and complexity of the resource required extensive planning and major capital support.

Woodside’s operating role brings international deepwater development experience to a field that demands advanced engineering across drilling, subsea production, processing, storage, and marine operations.

The new memorandum suggests both companies see value in applying knowledge gained at Trion to additional Mexican opportunities.

Any future expansion could benefit from existing technical cooperation, a shared understanding of the regulatory environment, and practical experience managing ultra deepwater risks.

The agreement remains an early stage framework, and no additional projects have been identified.

Even so, it provides a platform for Woodside and PEMEX to assess whether their Trion partnership can evolve into a wider deepwater portfolio across Mexico’s offshore basins.