Mexico's deputy energy minister for hydrocarbons, Lourdes Melgar, a key player behind the country's 3-year-old energy reform, will step down from her post at the end of the week, two sources with knowledge of the decision said on July 27.

Melgar, who previously served as deputy energy minister for electricity, will leave the government as it continues to implement the reform, including a series of oil auctions designed to lure investment and reverse a decade-long slide in crude production.

The reform ended national oil company Pemex's decades-long monopoly and clears the way for private companies to begin operating on their own.