HOME • PETROBAL

PetroBal is a Mexican company committed to the development of Mexico’s hydrocarbon sector. Our focus is Upstream operations, including both Exploration and Production, executing them in a safe and sustainable way. We use top-of-the-line technology to maximize value creation in each project.

Our technical team accumulates more than 350 years of experience with its constant participation in the development of Mexico’s most complex and significant Upstream projects. Due to their broad expertise, our team accrues extensive knowledge of Mexico’s oil industry as well as its regulatory and legal framework.

Contribution

PetroBal devotes human, financial, and technological resources towards oil and gas Upstream operations in Mexico, thus boosting the country’s energy development.

Our goal is to develop each project in the most efficient way as to capture the greatest possible value for Mexico and its society.

We are leaders in offering the technical and financial capabilities necessary to operate oil plays and fields, nationally and internationally, both onshore and offshore.

We have a team specialized in the different areas of the oil business and state-of-the-art technological tools.

Mission

Maximize the value of the company for the benefit of our stakeholders: country, company, shareholders, communities, suppliers, etc.

Vision

Being the preferred company by investors, as well as the most competitive in the operation of offshore and onshore oil fields in Mexico and abroad.

Values

Efficient work, loyalty to the Company and its stakeholders.

Transparency and honesty in the management of the Company's resources and stakeholders.

Respect people and institutions.

Dignified and polite behavior inside and outside the company.

Our History

With the approval of modifications in Mexico’s Constitution on December 2013 which allow the participation of private companies in the country’s Oil Industry, as well as the approval of the related legislation on August 2014, Grupo BAL decides, at the beginning of 2015, to create an oil company, 100% Mexican and fully committed to the economic and energy development of Mexico.

In March of that same year, PetroBal was born; its main objective is to participate through financial capital and the operation of fields in Exploration and Production projects. Our most important goal is the maximization of the economic value of hydrocarbons through the rational and responsible discovery as well as sustainable extraction of the country's oil and gas reserves and resources.

Our Operations

PetroBal, in consortium with the company Fieldwood Energy, was awarded through an international public tender, the contract CNH-R01-L02-A4/2015, regarding the right to develop the Ichalkil Pokoch project. The award was a result of presenting the best economic proposal; the contract was signed on January 2016.

The Ichalkil-Pokoch project:

It is located in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Tabasco and Campeche.

It is a project with 2P-certified reserves exceeding 500 million barrels of crude oil equivalent (boe).

The delimitation and evaluation stage of the fields has been successfully completed.

We estimate production of around 100 thousand barrels of crude oil equivalent per day once Phases one and two of the project are completed.

Both Mexico and its society, benefit directly.

Positive economic impact and job creation in the region are guaranteed.

The Ichalkil-Pokoch project is currently in its phase one:

5 producing wells in deposits of the Cretaceous and Jurassic age.

2 marine tetrapods production plataform, both built in Mexico.

Submarine pipelines from tetrapods to Tumut A measuring platform.

Reconditioning of existing Tumut A platform for production measurement.

CAPEX to date

$1.59 billion at the project level ($795 million per partner)

Production

~ 31,000 BOE, (February 2022)

* BOE: Barrels of Oil Equivalent

Our financial strength

Petrobal is one of Grupo Bal’s companies; it is a conglomerate of Mexican cutting- edge and diversified companies, all of them worldwide leaders in their respective industry. Grupo Bal is distinguished by its profitability and financial strength.

Financing

On January 2021, PetroBal obtained US$250 million in financing from financial institutions; this operation aimed to diversify our financing sources for the investments needed in the Ichalkil-Pokoch project.

This financing was based on our oil reserves, it is called RBL (Reserve Based Lending); both national and international institutions participated in this financing operation.

It is important to mention that this is the first and only loan instrumented in Mexico with these characteristics for a private offshore project.

The funds obtained from this financing operation improved the company's capital structure and the profitability needed to ensure its continuity.

Our Team

Led by Mr. Carlos A. Morales Gil

The management team of PetroBal is integrated by professionals with extensive experience in the Mexican oil industry.

Areas of expertise include Exploration and Development, Geology, Geophysics and Petrophysics, Drilling and Well Completion Engineering, Reservoir, and Production Engineering, as well as Oil and Natural Gas Investment Project Evaluation.

The team is complemented by a robust staff of professionals in finance, energy law, strategy, marketing, contract management, and strategic sourcing, who provide continuous support to operations.

Carlos A. Morales Gil

Managing Director

"I am proud of the people, of the passion they put into their work, and of being part of a Business Group committed to Mexico."

Carlos A. Morales Gil, General Director of PetroBal, is a Petroleum Engineer from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and holds a Master of Science in Engineering Management from Stanford University and a specialty in Project Management from Harvard University.

For 32 years he worked at Pemex Exploration and Production. In projects in the Southern Region, he worked as Deputy Manager of Reservoir Administration, Production, and Planning Manager and finally occupied the position of regional deputy director of such region. His extensive experience allowed him to become Deputy Director of Planning, where he oversaw optimizing the portfolio for exploration and production projects, as well as the capital allocation process. Finally, he was the General Director of Pemex Exploration and Production for nine years.

Recognized as one of the experts in strategic exploration and production areas, Mr. Morales has received several awards, among these, the National Petroleum Engineering Award offered by the College of Petroleum Engineers of Mexico.
Mr. Morales has also been named President of the College of Petroleum Engineers of Mexico; of the Mexican Union of Associations of Engineers and the World Energy Council Mexican Chapter.

For eight years Mr. Morales has been the General Director of PetroBal. Since joining the company he has contributed to the founding and start-up of the company. His negotiations allowed him to obtain the first contract for exploration and extraction in shallow waters in the Gulf of Mexico, and the acquisition and operation of hydrocarbon production in the United States; as well as his partnership with Fieldwood Energy LLC, the largest shallow water operator in the United States. Carlos A. Morales Gil, CEO of PetroBal, intends to turn this private Mexican company into a leader in the exploration, production, and commercialization of hydrocarbons.

Safety, Environment, and Social Responsibility

Operating safely and caring for the environment are our pillars.

The safety of our operations and our personnel is the number one priority of the company, we believe that all incidents and accidents can be prevented and we take all measures to ensure that our team has sufficient knowledge and training to achieve this goal.

We implement and maintain environmental management strategies consistent with internationally endorsed standards and practices, allowing us to foster an environmentally responsible place and work culture, assess risks and avoid them.