CaribX is a UK head quartered private energy company formed in 2009 to study and develop the hydrocarbon potential of the Caribbean and Central America, and to screen and mature exploration opportunities.
CaribX's objective is to build and develop a large exploration portfolio in this under-explored area and to:
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Build on its unique understanding of the hydrocarbon potential of the Caribbean and Central American through detailed petroleum geological studies, original thinking and interpretation;
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Select the most prospective areas and attract financial and industry partners;
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Safely and responsibly develop this potential in partnership with countries, investors and operating partners.
CaribX is now recognised as the leading expert on the exploration potential of the region. The company has partnered with major international oil companies and holds a non-operated interest in the Main Cape project, offshore Honduras.
Operations
Honduras Offshore
Highly prospective area added to the portfolio
In 2017 CaribX acquired a 15% non-operated interest in the Main Cape licence area offshore Honduras. In 2020 CaribX increased this interest to 55%. The 17,500 square kilometre area encompasses the shallow water Mosquitia basin, and the deepwater Patuca and Niobe basins.
Leadership Team
Chris Matchette-Downes
CEO
Chris has been in the upstream business for over 30 years, including time with BP, BG Group and more recently Black Marlin Energy. A petroleum geochemist, Chris is well-respected for work done in both East Africa and in the greater Caribbean region and has undertaken several geoscientific reviews of the region since 2003. He is a respected expert on frontier petroleum systems and often speaks at international conferences and seminars on the subject of oil and gas exploration. MSc., BSc., CGeol
Dr Chris Atkinson
Director
Chris Atkinson started his career at Shell but spent most of his formative years at Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) in the USA, Southeast Asia and Europe. He was the founder of Serica Energy plc and has been involved with the successful start up and financing of a further four companies (Mitra Energy, Malaysia; MPX Limited, UK; ZinMac - now Strategic Oil and Gas, Canada; Greenfields Petroleum, USA). Chris brings a wealth of exploration and small company experience and has worked extensively in frontier basins throughout the world. He has a PhD., BSc. in geology from the University of Swansea, UK
Ivan Sandrea
Senior Advisor
Ivan is founder and former CEO of Sierra Oil and Gas, the company that lead and participated in the award-winning Zama discovery in Mexico. Sierra was acquired by Wintershall DEA in 2019. Prior to this, Ivan held a number or entrepreneurial, leadership and corporate roles including: Co-head of the global oil and gas emerging markets practice for EY in London, President of Energy Intelligence (the oldest oil and gas information service in the world), Vice President of Corporate and Upstream Strategy and Business Development at Statoil (Equinor), head of oil supply at OPEC, investment banker at Merrill Lynch and exploration geologist at BP. During his career Ivan also held various roles at different starts ups in Latin America (Petra Energia in Brazil, Pan Andean Resources in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia).
Mark Shann
Senior Advisor
Mark Shann is a leading exploration geologist with 36 years experience across the world with BP and since 2014, Sierra Oil and Gas. At Sierra, he lead the technical evaluation team that successfully entered six exploration blocks and identified the Zama discovery, the largest shallow-water oil discovery worldwide in the last 20 years.
Prior to joining Sierra as a founding partner and director, Mark's career at BP spanned 13 countries including heading the Reliance/BP India exploration programme, and joint industry projects with PEMEX in Mexico, PDVSA in Venezuela, GUPCO in Egypt among others. Mark holds an Honours Degree in Geology from King's College and is a fellow of the Geological Society.
James Pope
Corporate Finance and Strategy Advisor
James has over 30 years’ experience in the energy, oil and gas and finance sectors. His early career was as a geologist and engineer with Halliburton, working on over 50 wells on four continents before moving into energy corporate finance. James has worked for some of the leading commercial and investment finance banks, including Barclays Capital, ABN Amro and Credit Agricole and has raised project and corporate capital for energy and oil & gas projects worldwide.
More recently James has worked in the equity capital markets and energy corporate finance sectors and has raised equity capital for upstream and energy sector clients in the UK, Europe, USA, Latin America, West Africa and SE Asia.
James holds an Honours degree in Geology from the University of London and an MBA from ESCP, Paris.
Dr. Octavio Pastrana
Director Latin America
Dr Pastrana brings a huge amount of industry experience at the most senior levels in oil and gas, energy, engineering and construction internationally and across Latin America. He has served on the board of PEMEX (the national oil company of Mexico), as a senior advisor to the Mexican state regarding oil and gas reforms, and at BP where he was Chairman and CEO of Chaco in Bolivia and Country Head and General Director of business units in Alaska, Venezuela and Mexico. Prior to BP Dr Pastrana was in senior management and CEO roles at a number of Latin American engineering and construction companies engaged in major power generation and civil infrastructure projects.
CaribX presents at the First HGS/EAGE Conference on Latin America: themed “South American Petroleum Plays for Future Decades of the Third Millennium
November 2019
CaribX presented a paper by director Chris Matchette-Downes and geologist Huw Williams on the Petroleum Systems of the Northern Caribbean at the first Houston Geological Society on Latin America
Selected Presentations and Research
September 2021
The oils and source rocks of the Patuca, Niobe and Mosquita Basins, Honduras
Article in Maya Revistade Geociencias
November 19, 2019
The Petroleum Geology of Offshore Honduras
Houston Geological Society and the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers: Exploration conference on Latin America
May 15, 2019
Petroleum Geology of Mexico and the Northern Caribbean
Keynote at the Geological Society, London conference on the Petroleum Geology of Mexico and the Northern Caribbean
May 15, 2019
The Oil and Source rocks of the Patuca and Mosquita Basins, Honduras
Keynote at the Geological Society, London conference on the Petroleum Geology of Mexico and the Northern Caribbean
July 15, 2018
Biomarker and isotope data from oil shows on Saba Bank and tar strandings on St Lucia evidence continental crust in the Antilles
AAPG Special Bulletin at the Hedberg Conference on Middle America, Sigüenza. Biomarker and isotope data from oil shows on Saba Bank and tar strandings on St Lucia evidence continental crust in the Antilles, in progress
October 21, 2016
Oils and source rocks of the Caribbean
Finding Petroleum, Geological Society, London
Policies
Our principles and ways of working
Anti-bribery and Corruption Policy
Health, Safety and Environmental Policy
Governance PDF
Dr Octavio Pastrana joins CaribX
March, 2020
Dr Pastrana brings a huge amount of industry experience at the most senior levels in oil and gas, energy, engineering and construction internationally and across Latin America. He has served on the board of PEMEX (the national oil company of Mexico), as a senior advisor to the Mexican state regarding oil and gas reforms, and at BP where he was Chairman and CEO of Chaco in Bolivia and Country Head and General Director of business units in Alaska, Venezuela and Mexico. Prior to BP Dr Pastrana was in senior management and CEO roles at a number of Latin American engineering and construction companies engaged in major power generation and civil infrastructure projects.
News and Resources
Senior industry figures join CaribX board
January 2020
CaribX announced today that Ivan Sandrea, recently CEO and founder of the first independent Mexican E&P company Sierra Oil and Gas (acquired by Wintershall DEA in 2019), has joined the board of directors. Ivan brings a wealth of industry and regional experience to the company as it starts a new chapter in its history. In addition, Mark Shann, former Technical Director of Sierra will join Caribx’s advisory panel.
CaribX to increase share of Main Cape licence Honduras to 55%
January 2020
CaribX, the Central American and Caribbean specialist exploration company, is to increase its share of the Main Cape Operating contract in Honduras. Following government approval CaribX will hold a 55% interest in the highly prospective licence area.
CaribX gives keynote presentation at the Geology Society, London
May 2019
CaribX's Chris Matchette-Downes presented several well recieved papers regarding the Petroleum Geology of the Northern Caribbean including a keynote presentation: "The Source rock provinces of the Caribbean by recourse to biomarker and stable isotope data assemblages from produced oils, shows and seeps".
CaribX welcomes Dr. Huw Willliams
April 2019
CaribX is delighted to announce Dr Huw Wiliams has joined the subsurface team. Huw is an experienced petroleum geologist specialising in carbonate reservoirs. Huw joins us from Shell where he worked on a number of international projects.
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