Oil and Gas Industry Leaders Eagerly Take Stakes in Mexican Offshore Fields

December 8, 2016

MEXICO CITY — The international oil industry on Monday agreed to pay billions of dollars to the Mexican government for rights to drill in the country’s portions of the Gulf of Mexico.

The companies made a big bet that oil and natural gas prices would eventually rebound enough to make additional exploration and drilling profitable. The sale was validation of Mexico’s decision to open its former government-monopoly energy business to foreign investment and expertise.

“This is a vote of confidence that the energy reform is moving forward and for the geological potential of the Mexican Gulf deep waters,” said Jorge R. Piñon, former president of Amoco Oil Latin America and now an analyst at the University of Texas at Austin.

The New York Times, Dec. 5, 2016

Featuring: Jorge Piñon, Director, Latin America and Caribbean Program, Jackson School of Geosciences