Mexico's Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell said on Wednesday that awarding just 30 to 50 percent of the 14 contracts up for tender as part of the first phase of a so-called Round One oil auction would be acceptable, Reuters said July 8.

The tender is part of a sweeping energy overhaul finalized last year that ended Pemex's nearly 80-year-old monopoly and is aimed at luring private investment into the sagging sector.