Cape Town - BHP Billiton has won a bid to acquire a 60 percent stake in a joint venture to develop the Trion field in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, the company said in a statement released on Tuesday. The Anglo-Australian mining group said Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex would retain a 40 per cent interest in the blocks.
BHP Billiton’s bid for Trion includes an upfront cash payment of $62.4 million and a commitment to a minimum work programme, estimated to be up to $320 million.
Should BHP Billiton and Pemex agree to progress the project beyond the minimum work programme, BHP Billiton would be required to invest a total of $1.2 billion.
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Steve Pastor, BHP Billiton president for petroleum operations, said: “This opportunity aligns with our strategy of owning and operating Tier-1 assets and provides an opportunity for BHP Billiton to leverage its industry leading deep-water drilling, development and operational expertise to create value in Mexico”.