Hokchi Energy Set for Two-Well Drilling Campaign off Mexico
November 12, 2026
Hokchi Energy, one of Mexico's largest private oil producers, plans to begin drilling two exploratory wells at the Woolis and Tojol prospects in shallow Gulf of Mexico waters, it said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that combined these had a 50% chance of containing 100 million barrels of oil equivalent.
While exploration activity by private producers has been relatively limited in recent years, drilling by Hokchi, the Mexican subsidiary of Pan American Energy, is being closely watched. The wells will test whether additional resources can be found near existing discoveries.
The two wells target prospective resources that Hokchi hopes to convert into contingent resources and eventually commercial reserves.
Fontis Energy's Oberón jack-up rig, a mobile offshore drilling platform, is already on site off Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz state.
Drilling of the first well, Woolis-1EXP, is expected to begin in the third week of November and finish in early 2027.
Hokchi plans to drill the second well immediately after completing the first. It is expected to finish in the first quarter of 2027.
The company plans to invest some $60 million on the two wells, which will each be about 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) deep.
Following drilling, Hokchi will evaluate the results and could launch a delineation program to determine the size of any discovery.
The work falls within a production-sharing contract signed in June 2018. Hokchi holds 75% and affiliate Xaxamani Energy 25%.
The same area holds the Xaxamani discovery, which is already under development. The discovery holds more than 130 million barrels of oil equivalent in proved, probable and possible (3P) reserves and Hokchi expects production to start in the near future.
(Reuters - Reporting by Adriana Barrera, Editing by Natalia Siniawski)
