A consortium led by Spain’s Repsol SA on Monday announced two deepwater oil discoveries at Mexico’s offshore Block 29 in the Salina Basin.

The Polok-1 and Chinwol-1 exploration wells were drilled to total depths of 2,620 meters (8,596 feet) and 1,850 meters (6,070 feet), respectively, encountering net oil pay of 200 meters (656 feet) and 150 meters (492 feet).

The discoveries come two years after upstream regulator Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) awarded the block to Repsol and its partners in the Round 2.4 bidding process.

Repsol is the operator of Block 29 with a 30% stake. Working interests are also held by PC Carigali Mexico Operations, which is the Mexican subsidiary of Malaysia’s state-owned Petroliam Nasional Berhad, aka Petronas (28.33%), Wintershall Dea (25%) and PTTEP México E&P Ltd. (16.67%).

Repsol has now made six discoveries this year totaling 650 million boe across the United States, Mexico and Colombia. The company said both Mexico wells were drilled ahead of schedule and under budget.

The Polok-1 well encountered net oil pay in two zones of the lower Miocene, while Chinwol-1 struck oil in three zones of the lower Pliocene.

The consortium expects to submit an appraisal plan for the discoveries to CNH by the end of this year.

Wintershall on Monday called Polok “a play opening discovery,” with Chief Technology Officer Hugo Dijkgraaf saying, “These are breakthrough discoveries, confirming the materiality and quality of Wintershall Dea’s exploration license portfolio” in the basin.

“They emphasize Mexico’s importance as one of Wintershall Dea’s key target regions for growth globally.”

Wintershall’s Juan Manuel Delgado, managing director for Mexico, said the discoveries provide “strong evidence of the oil potential of the Salina Basin. Opening a new play there, we are confident of further unlocking additional resources in Block 29 and the wider Wintershall Dea license portfolio.”

The discoveries are about 55 miles off the coast of Tabasco state and 31 miles west-northwest of the Zama shallow water discovery, in which Wintershall holds a 40% working interest.

Wintershall said the latest discoveries show “excellent petrophysical properties,” and that an intensive data collection has been conducted in both wells, including 108 meters (354 feet) of core.

Repsol also recently secured CNH approval for a third deepwater exploration well offshore Mexico in Block 10 off the coast of Veracruz state. The well is to be spudded over the coming days using the same Maersk Deep Water Valian drillship.

Repsol operates six blocks offshore Mexico, comprising three deepwater and three shallow water areas.

In an earnings call on Tuesday, Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz San Miguel said development of the Mexico discoveries is “perfectly compatible” with the company’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Mexico has yet to produce its first barrel of oil from a deepwater project.

Australia’s BHP has said the Trion deepwater field, which it operates in a partnership with Mexican state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), could achieve first oil by the mid 2020s.

In mid-2019, CNH also approved five exploration plans for deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas operated by Royal Dutch Shell plc.

Although deepwater and onshore unconventional plays account for most of Mexico’s prospective resources, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said Pemex should focus on shallow water and onshore conventional prospects as it has done historically. He has suspended the awarding of new exploration and production contracts to private sector firms.

Private sector companies produced 50,232 b/d of oil in Mexico in March, up 60% year/year. Natural gas output rose 37% to 227.6 MMcf/d.

CNH forecast in January that Mexico oil output, including from both Pemex and the private sector, could reach 2.5 million b/d by 2027 in a high scenario and 2.1 million b/d in a low scenario. Total production in March was 1.7 million b/d.