Mexico Delays Drilling Country's Deepest Oil Well

Mexico's state-owned oil company will delay drilling its deepest-ever well in the Gulf of Mexico while it tests new equipment.

Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, will try out a new exploratory deepwater rig on a prospect that's 700 meters (2,300 feet) deep, Bloomberg News reported. Once the company is satisfied, the rig will be used to drill the 2,600 meter deep Maximino well by April. That's five months later than originally scheduled.

Carlos Morales, the company's director of exploration and production, denied a report that Pemex is performing extra safety checks because of the BP (BP) spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Pemex is seeking new sources of oil in deep waters to offset falling production at its massive Cantarell field.