Australian media reports Tuesday energy companies there are among the early victors in the first round of auctions for exploration permits offshore Mexico. Australia’s BHP Billiton and Woodside Petroleum each prequalified as bidders for the first round of auctions for permits to explore the shallow Mexican territorial waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the first in more than 70 years. Neither company offered a statement on the approval. Deutsche Bank energy analyst Paul Young told The Sydney Morning Herald deepwater permits, expected on the auction block next year, were among the “most promising and anticipated acreage” offers in the region. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto last year set a goal of producing 3.5 million barrels of […]