Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Mexico’s state-owned oil and gas company, received no bids by the deadline Wednesday for its Ricos natural gas block, located in the Burgos Basin. It was the second week in a row that Pemex failed to attract even one bidder to produce non-associated gas in the northeast Mexico basin.

Ricos is the fifth of seven tender offers that Pemex is attempting to contract to private companies using multiple service contracts (MSCs). Under the MSC program, Pemex may award private firms contracts to explore and produce gas over a 20-year lease period, but the private companies would not own the gas they produce. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Total SA had requested bid packages on the Ricos block, and Pemex had expected the bid offer to be about $2 billion.

Pemex also received no bids last week in its fourth contract offer for the Corindon-Pandura block and canceled the tender offer. The first three tender offers only received one bid apiece. However, they were awarded.

Sergio Guaso, who is in charge of the MSC program for Pemex, said Pemex would review the terms and technical aspects of the Ricos and Corindon-Pandura blocks. The blocks may be tendered again or they may be awarded directly to a company without a bid process, he said.

Next week, Pemex will be taking bids on Burgos’ Fronterizo block. Guaso said four companies already have requested bid packages, and he said Pemex was confident it would award a tender. The seventh block, Olmos, which also was to be tendered this month, instead will be placed for bid in mid-January, he said.

©Copyright 2003 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.