Hokchi Energy plans to drill two exploration wells offshore Veracruz, Mexico, using Fontis Energy‘s jack-up rig Oberón, which has already arrived at the drilling location in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The campaign will target the Woolis and Tojol prospects under an investment programme exceeding $60 million. Hokchi Energy, the Mexican subsidiary of Pan American Energy, estimates that the prospects could contain more than 100 million barrels of oil equivalent in prospective resources, with a reported probability of 50%.
The company has not established commercial reserves at either prospect. The drilling programme will seek to confirm whether hydrocarbons are present and assess the characteristics of the potential reservoirs.
According to the company’s 11 November announcement, Oberón is positioned off Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, preparing to drill the first well, Woolis-1EXP, during the third week of November 2026.
Operations at Woolis-1EXP are expected to continue into early 2027. The second well, targeting Tojol, is scheduled to follow immediately, with the overall campaign expected to conclude during the first quarter of 2027.
Both wells are planned to reach depths of approximately 1,500 metres. The targets were identified through seismic interpretation and are located in Lower Pliocene geological formations.
The programme will collect geological and petrophysical information through well logging, fluid identification, formation sampling and pressure measurements. These data will be used to evaluate reservoir characteristics and quantify any hydrocarbons encountered.
One of the wells will also undergo testing using Deep Transient Testing (DTT). According to Hokchi Energy, the method allows sampling within the target formations without producing crude oil or gas at the wellhead, eliminating the need for a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for this test.
Following the drilling campaign, the company will review the results and determine whether further appraisal is warranted. A delineation programme could follow if the exploration results justify additional work.
The two prospects are located within contract area CNH-R03-L01-AS-CS-15/2018 in Mexico’s Southeastern Basins. The production-sharing agreement was signed in June 2018, with Hokchi Energy holding a 75% interest and affiliated company Xaxamani Energy holding the remaining 25%.
The same contractual area contains the Xaxamani discovery, which has more than 130 million barrels of oil equivalent in certified proved, probable and possible (3P) reserves. Its development plan is underway, although a specific production start date has not been confirmed.
If the Woolis and Tojol wells establish additional hydrocarbon resources, Hokchi Energy intends to assess their development alongside Xaxamani. The company has identified shared infrastructure and lower development costs as potential benefits of a combined development.
Separately, Hokchi Energy operates the producing Hokchi offshore field near Paraíso, Tabasco. The company reports current output of approximately 20,000 barrels of crude oil and more than seven million cubic feet of natural gas per day from the field.
