Category: Mexico

Recent reforms that would open oil exploration and development in Mexico to major oil companies for the first time in decades has the media all atwitter about the prospects of a reversal in declining Mexican oil output and a possible doubling of production. The reforms have brought out comparisons with Brazil which has a similar arrangement in which the country’s state-owned oil company works with major international oil giants to develop Brazil’s petroleum resources. Adding to the frothy atmosphere, former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva proposed a partnership between Mexico and Brazil to develop oil resources in both countries. In a world with daily average oil prices hovering near record levels, such news might be welcome if only we could actually count on the accompanying optimistic production forecasts. But, it’s instructive to look at what actually happened in Brazil since the time its […]

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Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed into law Friday a bill that ends the 75-year-old government monopoly in the oil and gas industry, even as the main leftist party is pledging to undo the law by organizing the country’s first-ever referendum. Mr. Peña Nieto became the first president in more than 50 years to propose and pass changes to the constitution on the subject of oil. The last one was Adolfo López Mateos in 1960, and that was to reinforce, rather than weaken, a state monopoly set up in 1938 when former President Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated the oil industry and turned oil into a nationalist symbol of Mexican sovereignty. "This year, we Mexicans have decided to overcome myths and taboos in order to take a large stride toward the future," said Mr. Peña Nieto in a speech at the National Palace. Supporters of the law say it will […]

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Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed into law Friday a bill that ends the 75-year-old government monopoly in the oil and gas industry, even as the main leftist party is pledging to undo the law by organizing the country’s first-ever referendum. Mr. Peña Nieto became the first president in more than 50 years to propose and pass changes to the constitution on the subject of oil. The last one was Adolfo López Mateos in 1960, and that was to reinforce, rather than weaken, a state monopoly set up in 1938 when former President Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated the oil industry and turned oil into a nationalist symbol of Mexican sovereignty. "This year, we Mexicans have decided to overcome myths and taboos in order to take a large stride toward the future," said Mr. Peña Nieto in a speech at the National Palace. Supporters of the law say it will […]

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Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed into law Friday a bill that ends the monopoly of state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos in oil and gas, opening new horizons for private-sector investment in the world’s ninth-largest oil producer. The energy bill, Mr. Peña Nieto’s wager to lift stagnant oil production and unleash economic growth, was passed by lawmakers in just 10 days. Congress gave final approval on Thursday of last week after two days of debates, and a required majority of state legislatures, 26 of the country’s 31, approved the constitutional amendment by this week. "This year, we Mexicans have decided to overcome myths and taboos in order to take a large stride toward the future," Mr. Peña Nieto said in a speech at the National Palace. Mr. Peña Nieto became the first president in more than 50 years to propose and pass in Congress changes to the constitution on the […]

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Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed into law Friday a bill that ends the monopoly of state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos in oil and gas, opening new horizons for private-sector investment in the world’s ninth-largest oil producer. The energy bill, Mr. Peña Nieto’s wager to lift stagnant oil production and unleash economic growth, was passed by lawmakers in just 10 days. Congress gave final approval on Thursday of last week after two days of debates, and a required majority of state legislatures, 26 of the country’s 31, approved the constitutional amendment by this week. "This year, we Mexicans have decided to overcome myths and taboos in order to take a large stride toward the future," Mr. Peña Nieto said in a speech at the National Palace. Mr. Peña Nieto became the first president in more than 50 years to propose and pass in Congress changes to the constitution on the […]

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Eric Milito, a director at the American Petroleum Institute, said the nod for an energy agreement with Mexico transforms the regional offshore energy sector. "American companies will now have the certainty they need to invest confidently along our maritime border with Mexico," he said in a statement Wednesday. A budget deal passed by U.S. lawmakers this week included consent for the Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreement between the United States and Mexico. The U.S. Interior Department estimates the transboundary region in the Gulf of Mexico holds as much as 172 million barrels of oil and 304 billion cubic feet of natural gas. "The energy production made possible by this agreement will put Americans to work and raise more revenue for the government," Milito said. API said as much as $51 billion in potential revenue could be generated from expanded work in the Gulf of Mexico. The […]

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Asian energy groups are looking at opportunities in Mexico following a decision to break Petróleos Mexicanos’s oil and gas monopoly, but they could face tough competition from Western rivals for the right to exploit the country’s huge and lightly developed reserves. Mexico’s relatively stable political environment and geographic proximity to the U.S. could attract investors from there, including companies that have been selling stakes in Asian and African energy projects to focus on exploiting shale gas and oil opportunities nearer to home. Attractive Mexico projects could also interest European companies such as Spain’s Repsol SA, REP.MC -0.77% Repsol S.A. Spain: Madrid € 18.11 -0.14 -0.77% Dec. 17, 2013 10:08 am Volume : 423,036 P/E Ratio 14.61 Market Cap €23.45 Billion Dividend Yield 0.44% Rev. per Employee €1,965,150 11/28/13 Repsol Deal With Argentina Was… 11/27/13 Repsol, Argentina Reach Tentat… 11/27/13 Repsol Bonds With Argentina More quote details […]

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Asian energy groups are looking at opportunities in Mexico following a decision to break Petróleos Mexicanos’s oil and gas monopoly, but they could face tough competition from Western rivals for the right to exploit the country’s huge and lightly developed reserves. Mexico’s relatively stable political environment and geographic proximity to the U.S. could attract investors from there, including companies that have been selling stakes in Asian and African energy projects to focus on exploiting shale gas and oil opportunities nearer to home. Attractive Mexico projects could also interest European companies such as Spain’s Repsol SA, REP.MC -0.77% Repsol S.A. Spain: Madrid € 18.11 -0.14 -0.77% Dec. 17, 2013 10:08 am Volume : 423,036 P/E Ratio 14.61 Market Cap €23.45 Billion Dividend Yield 0.44% Rev. per Employee €1,965,150 11/28/13 Repsol Deal With Argentina Was… 11/27/13 Repsol, Argentina Reach Tentat… 11/27/13 Repsol Bonds With Argentina More quote details […]

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A majority of Mexican state legislatures have approved changes in the constitution that open the country’s state-run energy industry to greater private investment and end a 75-year-old monopoly of state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos. Early Monday, San Luis Potosí became the 17th state to vote in favor of the bill, which amends the constitution to allow for private firms to explore for and produce oil and gas for the first time since the 1938 expropriation of the industry. Constitutional amendments in Mexico require a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate and lower house, and approval by a majority of the 31 state legislatures. Last week, the Senate and the lower house of Congress approved the changes, which amend the three constitutional articles that formed the core of the country’s restrictive energy laws. With the necessary state approvals, the Congress can declare the changes constitutional and send the bill […]

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Mexico’s bill that ends a 75-year state oil monopoly will be sent to President Enrique Pena Nieto for enactment after a majority of states ratified the proposal. San Luis Potosi, Puebla and Yucatan were among states that approved the legislation over the weekend, bringing the number of those that have endorsed the plan to 17 of 31. Mexico’s most significant economic overhaul since the North American Free Trade Agreement was enacted in 1994 had been approved by Congress on Dec. 12. The bill ends the monopoly held by Petroleos Mexicanos , or Pemex, and will allow companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) to develop the largest unexplored crude area after the Arctic Circle. The changes could bring an additional $20 billion in foreign direct investment and strengthen the peso, according to Carlos Capistran, chief Mexico economist at Bank of America Corp. The passage of […]

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