Citla Energy

What Citla Energy does

Citla Energy is a Mexican independent exploration and production company founded in 2015 and sponsored by Washington DC-based private equity firm ACON Investments. The company acquires and develops selected onshore and offshore oil and gas assets in Mexico, operating from headquarters in Mexico City and a general office in Houston. Citla's core activity is participating in Mexico's Energy Reform bidding rounds administered by the Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH), where it has secured four shallow-water blocks to date (Blocks 7, 9, and 14 in Round 2.1 in 2017; Block 15 in Round 3.1 in 2018) under production sharing contracts of up to 40 years in the southeast Gulf of Mexico.

Citla typically participates as a non-operated minority partner (25-40% working interest) alongside major international operators — ENI operates Blocks 7 and 14, while Cairn Energy operates Block 9 — using consortium structures to access offshore development capability without bearing full operator risk. The company's business model is upstream oil and gas production from acreage won via competitive tenders, supported by approximately $207.5 million of disclosed equity capital from ACON, the IFC ($60M in 2016), the China-Mexico Fund ($140M in 2016), and additional ACON capital in 2018, with Mexican pension fund participation through CKD certificates managed by ACON.

The company's product portfolio centers on three primary offshore shallow-water blocks covering approximately 1,500 km² at depths of 100-500 meters, with exploration activities extending to the Istmo Salinas Basin and a 2023 discovery at the Yatzil prospect in Block 7. Citla differentiates through local geological expertise, ACON's institutional capital base, and partnership access with international operators, and is governed by an environmental and social framework monitored annually by IFC-appointed consultant Acorn International.

Name

Citla Energy

Legal name

Citla Energy SAPI de CV

Website

https://citlaenergy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Citla Energy is a Mexican independent oil and gas exploration and production company, sponsored by ACON Investments, that acquires and develops offshore and onshore E&P assets in Mexico through CNH-administered Energy Reform bidding rounds, typically as a non-operated minority partner alongside ENI and Cairn Energy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Oil and Gas Production Revenue: Revenue generated from exploration and production activities in Mexico, including operated and non-operated onshore and offshore oil and gas fields acquired through the Mexican Energy Reform rounds.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Citla Energy is an independent Mexican oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company that acquires, develops, and operates onshore and offshore hydrocarbon assets in Mexico. It participates in Mexico's Energy Reform through competitive CNH bidding rounds, holding production sharing contracts in shallow-water blocks (Blocks 7, 9, 14, 15) in the southeast Gulf of Mexico, often in consortiums with international operators such as ENI and Cairn Energy. The company is sponsored by ACON Investments and backed by IFC and the China-Mexico Fund.

Product overview

Citla Energy is a Mexican independent exploration and production (E&P) company focused on acquiring and building a portfolio of selected onshore and offshore oil and gas assets in Mexico. The company operates both independently and in partnership with international operators like ENI and Cairn Energy. Core offerings include offshore shallow water exploration in the Gulf of Mexico (Blocks 7, 9, 14) and onshore asset development, with operations managed from offices in Mexico City and Houston.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Offshore Oil & Gas Exploration and Production
• Onshore Oil & Gas Exploration and Production
• Block 7 (Offshore Mexico)
• Block 9 (Offshore Mexico)
• Block 14 (Offshore Mexico) Offshore shallow-water block in the southeast Gulf of Mexico, operated by ENI with Citla Energy holding a 40% working interest.
• Block 15 (Offshore Mexico)

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ENI (Italy)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2017ENI of Italy serves as operator for Block 7 (45% working interest, Citla 25%, Cairn 30%) and Block 14 (60% working interest, Citla 40%) in Mexico's Round 2.1 shallow water auction. ENI brings offshore exploration and development expertise as a major international energy company.
• Cairn Energy PLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2017Cairn Energy PLC serves as operator for Block 9 (65% working interest, Citla 35%) in Mexico's Round 2.1 shallow water auction. Blocks 7 and 9 attracted half of the total bids from the whole round, demonstrating the attractiveness of these assets.
• Acorn International, LLCminorOthersAppointed by Citla Energy on behalf of IFC, Acorn International LLC is an independent environmental and social (E&S) consultancy contracted to review E&S information gathered through communications with Citla Energy, its operating partners, and associated contractors. Acorn prepares Independent Monitoring Reports annually or after exploration activities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Talos Energy: U.S.-based independent E&P with significant operations in Mexican offshore waters (including Zama discovery). Closely comparable as a non-operated/integrated Mexico-focused upstream peer with shallow-water Gulf of Mexico exposure.
• Wintershall Dea: European independent E&P active in Mexico offshore exploration blocks. Directly comparable as a foreign independent participating in Mexico's energy reform licensing rounds alongside Citla.
• Murphy Oil: U.S.-listed independent E&P with Gulf of Mexico focus. Comparable as an upstream peer operating in similar deep/shallow Gulf of Mexico geology with non-operated partnership experience.
• Fieldwood Energy: Private Gulf of Mexico-focused E&P operator backed by First Reserve. Comparable as a privately-held independent with concentrated Gulf of Mexico shallow-water exposure and similar capital structure profile to Citla.
• Kosmos Energy: Independent E&P focused on frontier and emerging basins (West Africa, Mauritania/Senegal, Suriname/Guyana). Comparable as an exploration-led independent with a non-operated partnership model and basin-opening strategy similar to Citla's Mexican approach.
• LLOG Exploration: Privately-held Gulf of Mexico-focused E&P operator. Comparable as a private upstream peer concentrating on Gulf of Mexico deepwater/shallow-water opportunities with non-operated partner participation.

Broad incumbents

• Eni: Italian supermajor that operates Blocks 7 and 14 alongside Citla. Directly comparable as Citla's co-investor and operator in the same Mexican shallow-water acreage, with extensive global E&P capabilities.
• Cairn Energy: UK-listed exploration-led independent that operates Block 9 with Citla. Comparable as an international E&P operator focused on frontier and emerging basins with non-operated partnership models.
• BP: Global supermajor with extensive Gulf of Mexico operations. Comparable as a broad incumbent active in the same Mexican and Gulf of Mexico basins where Citla operates, though BP operates at materially larger scale and across the full value chain.

Regional players

• Harbour Energy: UK-listed independent E&P formed via Premier Oil merger with Mexico and other international upstream exposure. Comparable as an international independent with prior Mexican licensing round participation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citla-energy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Citla Energy