Latin America's richest man takes another step: Carso acquires 30% interest in Total (TTE.US) Gulf of Mexico oil field, oil landscape continues to expand

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Mexico's Grupo Carso SAB (Carso Group), which is owned by Carlos Slim (Carlos Slim), the richest man in Latin America, is once again expanding its oil footprint. According to documents submitted to the Mexican Stock Exchange on July 16, Carso has reached a binding agreement with French energy giant Total Energy (TTE.US) to acquire the latter's 30% interest in the Block 30 offshore oil field block in the Gulf of Mexico. The deal is subject to regulatory approval from the Mexican government.

After the deal is completed, British drilling company Harbour Energy Plc will continue to be the project operator and hold the remaining 70% interest in the block. Carso will complete the acquisition through MX Dlta Nrg 1, a subsidiary owned by Zamajal, which holds 80% of its shares.

Detailed explanation of Block 30 assets: Kan oil field is the core, with estimated recoverable reserves of 150 million barrels

Block 30 is located in the shallow water area of Cuenca Salina del Istmo (Cuenca Salina del Istmo) in Mexico, about 29 km from the southern coast of Mexico. The block has a total area of about 30.5 square kilometers, the water depth is only 40 to 50 meters, and the depth of the well is between 3,300 and 3,750 meters.

The core asset within the block is the Kan oil field. Harbour Energy estimates that the oil field contains about 500 million barrels of oil equivalent oil resources, of which about 150 million barrels can be recovered. Kan is a light oil field awarded in 2018 through a production sharing contract under the Mexican energy reform framework. The contract lasted 25 years, and a consortium composed of Premier Oil, Deutsche Erdoel Mexico (later merged into Harbour Energy), and SEP Block 30 (later acquired by Total) won the bid.

Although the parties have reached a binding agreement, the final completion of the deal still requires necessary government and regulatory approvals. Carso did not disclose the exact transaction amount for this acquisition.

Slim's Oil Chess Game: From Talos to Pemex to Total

The acquisition is the latest step in Slim's continued expansion in the Mexican oil and gas sector in recent years, and is an important part of its 2026 investment plan of approximately $5 billion.

Slim's oil landscape expansion trajectory is clearly visible:

In May 2023, Carso acquired 49.9% of Talos Energy's Mexican subsidiary for US$124.75 million and indirectly obtained 17.4% of the Zama oil field. Since then, Carso has increased its shareholding ratio to 80%.

In September 2025, Carso signed a $1.99 billion contract with Pemex (Pemex) to drill 32 wells in the Ixachi oil and gas field, and plans to increase the field's production to about 200,000 b/d within three years.

In January 2026, Carso purchased Fieldwood Mexico, a subsidiary of Lukoil (Lukoil), with US$270 million in cash and assumed its debt of US$330 million, thus fully owning the two offshore oil fields of Ichalkil and Pokoch. The total value of the deal is around $600 million.

In March 2026, Carso completed the acquisition of 30.1% of Talos Energy Mexico's shares.

In addition, Slim also holds shares in the US refiner PBF Energy Inc. Slim previously stated that Carso's oil exploration and production activities are concentrated in Carso Energy and Zamajal's two subsidiaries, and these businesses contributed about 8% of Carso consolidated's revenue in the first quarter of 2026.

Strategic positioning: keep a distance from Pemex and focus on private assets

Notably, although Slim has become Pemex's largest private partner, he made it clear in May this year that he will no longer seek a new joint venture with Pemex. He called Pemex's Lakach deep-water gas project “irrational” at the time and terminated cooperation with the project.

However, just at the beginning of this month, Slim expressed strong optimism about the outlook for Mexican oil. He predicts Mexican oil production is expected to rise back to 2 million to 2.5 million barrels per day over the next few years, driven by private capital. By the end of April, Pemex's crude oil and condensate production was 1.65 million barrels per day. Slim specifically pointed out that the cooperation with Woodside Energy at the Trion oil field and the technology sharing agreement between Pemex and Petrobras will bring positive results.

Slim now took over Block 30 rights from Total, continuing its consistent strategy of “buying assets from international oil companies on dips”. As European energy giants such as Total and Shell gradually adjust their global asset portfolios, the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico are becoming an increasingly important piece of the puzzle in Slim's oil landscape.

For Carso, Block 30's Kan oil field formed a regional synergy with the Ichalkil, Pokoch and Zama oil fields previously acquired by the company, further consolidating its asset density in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. According to Slim's early July forecast, Mexican oil production is expected to pick up significantly over the next few years — if fulfilled, Slim's oil empire will face a systematic revaluation of values.

Slim's oil asset portfolio is forming a complete chain: upstream exploration and extraction (Zama, Ichalkil, Pokoch, KAN), infrastructure construction (Ixachi drilling contract), and engineering service capabilities. This layout made Carso one of Mexico's largest private oil operators outside of Pemex. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 86-year-old Slim's wealth is around $130 billion, mainly from telecom giant América Móvil.

When international oil giants such as Total Energy are gradually divesting their traditional oil and gas assets under pressure from the global energy transition, Slim is taking over the market in a countercyclical manner. From Ichalkil to Pokoch, from Zama to Kan, the Mexican telecom tycoon is building a private oil empire in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico capable of fighting against Pemex. And the acquisition of Block 30 is just another step in this grand game.