Slim adds 2 Russian fields in the Gulf of Mexico to his expanding oil portfolio

January 19, 2026

Kostanay, Kazakhstan, July 10, 2025. LUKOIL signboard at gas station — By purchasing the Russian company Lukoil's Mexican subsidiary, and paying the subsidiary's debt to its parent company, Slim's Grupo Carso completed a series of deals that gives it full control over two major oil fields in the Gulf. (Shutterstock)

Grupo Carso, owned by the family of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, has agreed to purchase the Russian oil company Lukoil’s Fieldwood Mexico subsidiary, thereby gaining full control of the Ichalkil and Pokoch oil fields off the coast of Campeche.

According to the agreement announced on Monday, Carso will acquire 100% of Fieldwood Mexico for US $270 million, in addition to settling US $330 million of Fieldwood’s debt with its parent company, according to a statement sent to the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).

While Carso committed to assuming the obligation to pay Fieldwood Mexico’s accumulated debt, Lukoil itself will be the seller.

Carso, through its subsidiary Zamajal, signed a binding agreement with Lukoil to acquire 100% of the share capital of Fieldwood Mexico, which has a half stake in the Ichalkil and Pokoch offshore fields in the Gulf of Mexico.

“These figures and payment terms are subject to closing adjustments in accordance with the terms of the contract,” Carso stated in the document sent to the BMV.

Fieldwood Mexico is the operator and holds a 50% stake in the Ichalkil and Pokoch fields in Contract Area 4 in the Gulf of Mexico. On June 20, 2024, the Grupo Carso subsidiary Zamajal formalized the purchase of Petrobal Upstream Delta 1, now Mx Dlta NRG 1, which holds the other 50% stake in Contract Area 4.

If approved, Grupo Carso would own 100% of the stake in this field. Mexico’s National Antimonopoly Commission and the Energy Ministry must authorize the purchase as does the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control which imposed sanctions on Russia’s energy sector in October 2025.

Bloomberg News reported that the acquisition aligns with Slim’s plan to expand his oil portfolio, which includes contracts with Pemex for more than US $6.4 billion. The Pemex contracts include services in strategic fields such as Lakach and Ixachi, in addition to his entry into the Zama megafield.

Carso, one of the largest and most important conglomerates in Latin America, controls and operates a wide variety of companies in the commercial, communications, industrial and consumer sectors.

With reports from El Economista, El Financiero and Bloomberg Online