By Anthony Harrup

MEXICO CITY--Grupo Carso, the retail and industrial conglomerate controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, will acquire a stake in the Mexican unit of Talos Energy that holds a share of the Zama oilfield in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

Carso unit Zamajal will pay $124.8 million for 49.9% of Talos Mexico, which has a 17.4% interest in the Zama oilfield, the companies said Thursday. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

Houston-based Talos said the investment by Carso comes as the company and its partners move toward a final investment decision on the Zama project and first oil production.

"The joint-venture will also benefit from Carso's critical presence in Mexico and global commercial experience," Talos said.

Talos made the discovery in 2017 at an exploration block it won in a first bidding round following Mexico's 2013-2014 overhaul of energy laws to allow private oil exploration and production.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador put a freeze on new oil auctions after taking office in December 2018.

The Zama reservoir lies under an adjacent block assigned to state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos, and in 2021 the Energy Ministry named Pemex as the operator of the joint field, giving it management control of the project despite objections by Talos.

Pemex holds a 50.4% stake in Zama. Talos holds 17.4%, Wintershall DEA of Germany 19.8%, and Harbour Energy of the U.K. 12.4%.

Pemex submitted a development plan to regulators for the Zama oil field in March. The unit holders set up an integrated project team to manage the development and operation of the field. Talos said it will co-lead the planning, drilling, construction, and completion of all Zama wells as well as the planning, execution, and delivery of Zama's offshore infrastructure.

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 25, 2023 18:47 ET (22:47 GMT)

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