MEXICO CITY: Mexico's energy ministry has approved a 60-day extension for talks between state oil company Pemex and a private consortium led by US-based Talos Energy Inc over the future of a massive shared crude deposit, Talos chief executive Tim Duncan told Reuters on Tuesday.

The energy ministry's previous deadline for a deal on an initial so-called unitization agreement for the offshore Zama discovery would have expired next week.

The country's energy ministry has agreed to let the parties continue negotiating through March 25, Duncan said, which would determine who runs the potentially lucrative project as well as a preliminary split of the reservoir, among other development details.