Annual E&P spending in Mexico is likely to double following reforms of the oil and gas sector by the country’s government.

Spending is likely to increase from $25 billion to $50 billion annually, Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya Austin told delegates Feb. 2 at the GE Oil & Gas Annual Meeting 2015 in Florence, Italy.

Following the reforms, which ended Pemex’s 75-year monopoly, the former state-owned oil company is now able to partner with companies from across the world on various projects.

Lozoya Austin said the main aim of the reforms was not only about increasing production but also increasing energy efficiency and generating cheaper energy for the Mexican economy.

“Mexico offers an interesting opportunity because our all in cost per barrel is US$23, so even at current prices, Pemex’s total upstream portfolio remains highly competitive,” he said.

Some 100 blocks will go under the hammer over the next year and the majority of fields, including shallow water and mature fields, will be auctioned off between June and October. An offering of unconventional shale blocks has been postponed until next year.

“On the infrastructure side there are also quite a number of interesting opportunities in gas pipelines for example,” Lozoya Austin said. “The Mexican economy needs more natural gas. We have the natural gas but we don't have the pipelines, so we are rapidly building thousands of kilometers of natural gas pipelines that need to be financed and we need partners those.

“In the next five years the number of kilometers of natural gas pipelines will increase by 75% in the country. I see these as the arteries of the economy to bring natural gas to some parts of Mexico that today are very energy inefficient,” he said.

In terms of attracting personnel to work in the industry, oil companies need to nurture talent rather than buy it in, Lozoya Austin said, adding the industry needed to find a “collaborative way to build talent.”