Promise in private investment

May 8, 2025

Jose Bosch, CEO of Oleum Energy, talks to The Energy Year about the company’s fertiliser project in Reynosa, its plans for the La Laja field and the benefits of the opening up of the E&P market to private operators. Oleum Energy is a Mexican E&P company aiming to explore, develop and operate oil and gasfields in North and Latin America.

Tell us about the fertiliser project Oleum is developing in Reynosa.
We are currently developing a fertiliser project with a production capacity of 700,000 tonnes of urea per year. This venture includes an ammonia plant and a urea plant. The gas we have will be converted into ammonia, and in another stage, the ammonia will be converted into urea. The project is worth USD 1.3 billion and is being built with two key partners: Grupo Jebla and Global Solutions Energy Group.
The project has already started; we have the conceptual engineering ready as well as the market research study. The process of obtaining the environmental impact assessment and social impact assessment permits has reached 60% progress and we estimate that the project will be completed by the end of 2027. The government of Tamaulipas has been very supportive with the project.
We are aiming for two main markets with this venture. The first is the agriculture sector, simply because urea is needed as the basis of fertilisers. However, fertiliser production and sales are seasonal. There is no fixed demand as it depends on seasonal crops. Due to this, we sought other uses for urea. The United States consumes diesel that has liquid urea as an additive. It is in this niche market where we will stabilise our demand. The urea we will produce will be partly used to supply the domestic demand but also for export to the US to be used as a diesel additive.

 

What plans do you have for your operated La Laja field?
The current goal we have in Block R01-L03-A10’s La Laja field is to stabilise production flows. We are also rehabilitating two wells to have a total of three wells producing. We currently have a production of 350 bopd with our producing well but with the two new ones we will produce around 1,200 bopd. Once we obtain stable production from these three wells, we aim to drill more wells to achieve a considerable ramp-up in production.
We are currently looking for equity or financing partners to be able to grow our production in La Laja, to eventually have 10 producing wells.
The barrels produced are delivered by pipeline to Pemex at the San Diego Station. Laboratory analysis is done there to guarantee that we deliver the crude with the expected quality: 29.6 degrees API with very low water content. From there, Pemex takes the crude to refine. The potential of this field is undeniable. It was first explored in the 1960s and ‘70s and has current reserves of 10 million barrels.

How is the opening up of the E&P market to private operators beneficial for the sector?
Private-sector operators need to break the glass ceiling of 100,000 bopd. Due to the historical nature of our industry, which has traditionally been closed to private investment, the impact of private operators on the total production of the country is minimal. The private sector needs to be incentivised to break the glass ceiling.
We see a slight change in the direction with this new administration, which is advocating for an opening up to private investment. It is a beneficial move because it is always easier to make investments with private money than with the budget. The government will benefit more by using private investment. They will not carry the investment risk and they will benefit via royalties.

How successful has Oleum Energy been in Colombia with the Sinú-9 project?
Sinú-9 is a gasfield located in Colombia’s Lower Magdalena Valley. It is a very important project for us. We have a 15% stake in it and are a key player in the joint operating agreement along with NG Energy, Clean Energy Resources and FG Oil & Gas. This field is projected to be one of Colombia’s most important natural gas producing onshore plays with a projected production of 200 mcf [5.67 mcm] per day. Currently, it is one of the most important projects in our portfolio.
In mid-2024, a 28-kilometre pipeline and a brand-new 40-mcf [1.13-mcm] central processing facility was inaugurated. The second phase of development of Sinú-9 is already in motion. This involves the construction of two more processing facilities and two more pipelines. Additionally, there are four new wells programmed for 2025. By the end of the year, the goal is to have Sinú-9 produce around 120 mcf [3.3 mcm] of gas per day. By 2026, the goal is to produce 200 mcf [5.67 mcm] per day.
This project will be essential for Colombia’s gas sovereignty and we are proud to be part of such an important venture. Moreover, the urgent need for gas to supply domestic demand, added to the favourable natural gas prices in Colombia, makes this project very attractive.

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