Oil companies operating in Mexico's deep waters must use national suppliers for 8% of the projects by 2025, the government said on March 29, a relatively low rate meant to encourage foreign and private firms to bid on contracts.
Mexico's oil regulator has scheduled its first-ever deepwater auction in early December for 10 blocks in the Gulf of Mexico, after constitutional amendments in 2013 ended a nearly eight-decade monopoly by state oil firm Pemex.
The low rate would allow companies to rely less on Mexican suppliers who have limited expertise in the country's largely unexplored deep waters.
The rule set a 3% minimum in 2015, which covered the few projects operated by Pemex, that would rise to a maximum of 8% in 2025, according to a statement in the government's official gazette.
The content minimums are far lower than for onshore and shallow-water projects, which top out at 35%.
Luis Miguel Labardini, an oil analyst with Mexico City-based energy consultancy Marcos y Asociados, described the rule as "very reasonable," particularly when compared to those in countries like Brazil.
"I think it's a good sign that will give international operators flexibility," he said.
Recommended Reading
Qnergy Tackles Methane Venting Emissions
2024-03-13 - Pneumatic controllers, powered by natural gas, account for a large part of the oil and gas industry’s methane emissions. Compressed air can change that, experts say.
MethaneSAT: EDF’s Eye in the Sky Targets E&P Emissions
2024-03-07 - The Environmental Defense Fund and Harvard University recently launched MethaneSAT, a satellite tracking methane emissions. The project’s primary target: oil and gas operators.
SEC Adopts Climate Disclosure Rules in 3-2 Vote
2024-03-06 - The regulation requires companies to disclose Scope 1 and 2 emissions, weather-related risks and other climate-related data that could have a material business impact.
Majority of Recent CO2 Emissions Linked to 57 Producers - Report
2024-04-03 - The world's top three CO2-emitting companies in the period were state-owned oil firm Saudi Aramco, Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom and state-owned producer Coal India, the report said.
Exclusive: Scepter CEO: Methane Emissions Detection Saves on Cost
2024-04-08 - Methane emissions detection saves on cost and "can pay for itself," Scepter CEO Phillip Father says in this Hart Energy exclusive interview.