Mexico's Carso to Increase Stake in Zama Oil Field

By Anthony Harrup

MEXICO CITY--Mexican conglomerate Grupo Carso said it reached an agreement to acquire an additional 5% of the Zama oil field in the southern Gulf of Mexico from Harbour Energy for $75.25 million.

The money from the transaction will be largely invested in the development of the field, Carso said in a filing with the Mexican stock exchange.

Once the transaction is completed, Carso unit Zamajal will have around 17.8% of Zama, Harbour Energy of the U.K. 27.3%, Talos Energy of Houston 4.5% and state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos 50.4%, Carso said.

Talos made the Zama discovery in 2017 at an exploration block it won in a first bidding round following Mexico's 2013-2014 overhaul of energy laws to allow private oil exploration and production.

The find is adjacent to a block previously assigned to Pemex, and the Mexican government in 2021 designated Pemex as the operator of the shared deposit, a decision that Talos questioned at the time. Talos sold a stake in its Mexican unit to Carso in 2023.

In December, Harbour Energy said it was appointed operator of the project in a decision agreed to by the partners and approved by Mexico's Energy Ministry. The oil field is estimated to contain recoverable resources of around 750 million barrels of oil equivalent, Harbour Energy said.

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 07, 2026 10:46 ET (14:46 GMT)