Although the populist economic policies of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador haven’t triggered a significant slowdown in the country’s economy, the reversal of his predecessor’s liberalizing energy reforms are affecting the Mexican oil industry. Lopez Obrador’s policy of empowering Pemex risks overextending the company’s financial strategy, with a further risk of spillover into the rest of Mexico’s financial sector if the company’s credit rating is downgraded yet again. Pemex is now seeking the rights to a crucial oil and gas field discovered by an international company, which could further chill private investor interest. What Happened In what could be a troubling sign for future energy investments, Mexico’s state-owned oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), and U.S.-based Talos Energy are quarreling over the exploitation and development rights of the Zama oil field, in the Gulf of Mexico roughly 60 kilometers (about 37 miles) off the coast of southern Mexico. The […]