Key Points
- Slim’s Grupo Carso is buying Lukoil’s Fieldwood Mexico and taking operatorship of two offshore fields.
- Pemex’s debt load is forcing a practical shift toward private capital to keep drilling and gas plans on track.
- The deal reflects geopolitics too, as Russian firms retreat under tighter sanctions pressure.
Mexico’s oil story usually reads like a battle over sovereignty. This week it looked more like a balance sheet.
Carlos Slim’s Grupo Carso agreed to acquire Fieldwood Mexico from Russia’s Lukoil for $270 million. Carso also said it will settle about $330 million in Fieldwood-related debt. Together, that puts the package near $600 million. The prize is control.
Fieldwood is the operator of the Ichalkil and Pokoch offshore fields, off Campeche. Carso already owned the other half after buying into the assets through a PetroBal transaction in 2023.
This purchase gives Slim the remaining 50% and, more importantly, the steering wheel. That operatorship matters because Mexico’s upstream problems are less about geology than execution.
Drilling schedules slip, service bills pile up, and project decisions can stall. An operator decides the pace, hires the teams, and keeps the work moving.
Slim deepens Mexico oil footprint
Slim has been building that capability for years. Including this deal, he has invested more than $2.4 billion in Mexico’s offshore oil assets.
He also expanded his foothold through Talos’s Mexico unit, linking him to Zama. Zama is one of Mexico’s largest recent discoveries. Pemex holds a majority stake there, while operatorship was assigned to Harbour Energy.
The story behind the story is Pemex’s financial trap. Pemex reported total debt around $100.3 billion as of September 30, 2025.
Heavy interest payments squeeze the money needed for drilling and maintenance. That is why partnerships now look less ideological and more inevitable.
Slim is already embedded in that reality. He is partnering with Pemex on the deepwater Lakach gas project. He also signed a roughly $2 billion agreement tied to drilling at the Ixachi gas field.
Outside Mexico, the signal is broader than one acquisition. Lukoil’s exit fits a wider pullback by Russian firms under tighter sanctions pressure. The message to markets is clear: Mexico is leaning on private execution to keep state priorities alive.
Related coverage: Brazil’s Morning Call | Dollar Softness Kept The Peso Firm As Mexico Stocks Hovered This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Mexico affairs and Latin American financial news.