Cantarell Field
19.7525 - 92.516111111111Koordinaten: 19 ° 45 '9 "N, 92 ° 30' 58 " W
Cantarell has long been the largest oil field in Mexico and by 2007, the second most prolific oil field in the world. At the same time it is one of the largest offshore production areas in the world with a total investment of about 5 billion U.S. dollars. The field is located about 100 km off the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the Bay of Campeche and contains about 11 billion barrels of oil.
Cantarell is a subsidiary of Petróleos Mexicanos ( PEMEX ), the state-owned Mexican oil company. Around 40 % of the Mexican state budget are generated with the revenues from the oil field at present ( 2007).
The oil deposit was discovered in 1976 under the seabed. 1981 1.16 million barrels of oil a day were promoted from Cantarell. By 1995, the production has dropped to 1 million barrels / day. 1997 large amounts of nitrogen can be pumped to raise the pressure of the panel and ensure the flow of oil. Thus, the production in 1997 rose to 1.6 million barrels / day and 2003 ( Mb / d ) were even 2.1 million barrels / day promoted, making it the zweitproduktivsten field after Ghawar in Saudi Arabia. In 2004, however, it has exceeded its maximum production. Since then, the promotion is in decline - a fact which is often used to illustrate the peak oil theory that with the gradual drying up of large oil fields has reached the peak of the oil age the world.
In 2005, the capacity of Cantarell was still 2.032 Mb / day, 2006, the capacity then unexpectedly declined sharply by 13.1 %. In July 2008, the discharge capacity decreased dramatically by 36 % to only 973 668 barrels / day ( 0.973 Mb / day) compared to 1.526 Mb / day in the corresponding period in 2007. According to experts, the massive and unusually rapid drop in flow rate is related to the pumping of nitrogen and other methods together, which have been applied since 1997.
Originally it was expected that stabilizes output at 500,000 barrels / day, however, the flow rate decreased to November 2010, to about 464,000 barrels / day. In August 2011, only 449,000 barrels / day were produced, therefore a longer-term "stabilization" at a higher level seems rather unlikely. In November 2011, production dropped to 400.587 barrels / day. In April 2012, production dropped to 400,000 barrels / day and stabilized for the remainder of 2012 at this level. End of June 2013 output fell to 380,000 barrels / day. This Ku - Maloob - Zaap oil field was 2009, the most productive oil field in Mexico.
Meanwhile, the scientific community is mostly convinced that Cantarell will be empty promoted in a few years. On 29 March 2007 the oil investment banker Matthew Simmons reported in a broadcast of the U.S. television channel CNBC of a meeting in Mexico with the responsible state PEMEX. Simmons has been suggested here that Cantarell ("[ ... ] did Produces 6 out of every 10 barrels of oil from our friendliest supplier" ) is now depleted to 20% - "it's down 20 % ."
On 27 July 2007, finally confirmed the news agency Prensa Latina in a message, the bleak prospects for Cantarell with the message: "Mexican Company Predicts End of Oil". Within seven years, the state PEMEX now expects the final Trockfallen of the former giants and major Mexican oil field, Cantarell.