Private firms confirm oil find in Mexico shallow-water well

MEXICO CITY – A consortium of Mexican and foreign private companies says a well drilled in shallow water has found between 1.4 and 2 billion barrels of crude oil equivalent in the Gulf of Mexico.

Houston, Texas-based Talos Energy LLC says it has a 35 percent interest, along Sierra Oil and Gas and Premier Oil Plc.

Talos said in a statement Wednesday the well started at a depth of 545 feet (166 meters) below the Gulf surface and reached a depth of 11,100 feet (3,383 meters) underground.

It's one of the largest discoveries made in shallow water by a private firm in Mexico, where private drilling under a concessionary scheme was approved as part of the country's 2013 oil reforms.

Previously, the state-run oil company had found many shallow-water fields in the Gulf.