Takes step towards opening oil sector
24 Nov 2010
Mexico has taken steps towards opening up its oil sector to foreign companies with the approval of a new contracting model that lets private companies operate oil fields. Private investors have been barred from the oil sector since its 1938 nationalization. State ownership of the energy industry remains key and the State-owned oil company Pemex stressed that new contracts will not grant foreign companies ownership of oil resources and payments will be on a fee-per-barrel basis. The new "incentive-based" contracts were the centerpiece of a package of legislation passed in 2008 aimed at reviving the fortunes of Mexico's flagging oil industry. Pemex plans to auction three contracts to operate mature onshore oil fields by mid-2011 with subsequent rounds proposed for more mature fields as well as exploration blocks in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Type:
-
Entry and establishment (Ownership and control)
Industry:
-
Primary (Mining and quarrying)
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Manufacturing (Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products)
Inward FDI:
No
Outward FDI:
No
Sources:
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Pemex press release, Bulletin No. 88, 24 Nov 2010
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Reuters, Mexico takes step towards opening oil sector, 24 Nov 2010
