LatinNews Daily - 30 September 2025

*Grupo Carso, the conglomerate owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, has signed a US$1.99bn contract with state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) to drill 32 oil and gas wells in the Ixachi field, Veracruz state. In a statement submitted to Mexico’s stock exchange (BMV), Grupo Carso announced that it had signed the contract via its subsidiaries, GSM Bronco and MX Dlta NRG 1. It noted that the Ixachi field was considered “one of the most important land fields in the country”, saying it currently accounted for daily production of around 93,000 barrels of oil and 715m cubic feet of gas, which equates to 236,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, according to the statement. To date, 28 wells have been drilled in the field with an average depth of 7,650m, with Grupo Carso having participated in the drilling through its subsidiaries. As per the contract, the 32 new wells will be drilled and completed over three years, which Grupo Carso says, “will contribute to a substantial increase in production”. Pemex will begin paying for the drilling of the wells in January 2027. Income will be obtained from hydrocarbons sold as part of the project. Carso expects that by the time Pemex starts making payments, 12 of the 32 wells will already be producing. While the maximum cost of the contract is US$1.99bn, this could be reduced if not all 32 wells are drilled. Grupo Carso notes that its subsidiaries have more than 18 years of experience in land and offshore drilling, including drilling wells in strategic fields such as Quesqui (Tabasco state) and developing the deepwater Lakach project in the Gulf of Mexico. Carso notes that Pemex has yet to fulfil its payments on some of these other contracts. The Ixachi contract marks another step in Slim’s continued investment in Mexico’s energy sector.

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