First Phase of Historic Mexico Oil Auction Is a Bust Eric Haun - Marine Technology News
go to original July 16, 2015

Mexico: First Oil Auction Falls Short of Expectations (teleSUR English)

Mexico auctioned only two of 14 blocks in a pivotal oil and gas tender on Wednesday, falling far short of the government's modest expectations as it begins to open up the long-nationalized industry to private investment.

Both the shallow water exploration and production contracts were awarded to the same consortium made up of Mexico's Sierra Oil & Gas, U.S. firm Talos Energy and Britain's Premier Oil.

The other 12 blocks received no bids, or none that cleared the bar set by Mexico's finance ministry.

All told, it was an inauspicious start to the rollout of President Enrique Pena Nieto's signature economic reform.

...The energy ministry said previously that at least 30 percent, or five contract awards, of the 14 on offer would constitute a successful auction. Blocks not awarded can be tendered again at a later date.

Juan Carlos Zepeda, president of Mexico's oil regulator CNH, said it would take up to two days to verify the required financial guarantees for the winning consortium before the two awards are final.

Read the rest at Marine Technology News

Related: Why Mexico's Historic Oil Bid Wasn't a Complete Flop (Institute of the Americas)

Related: Big Oil to Battle for Mexico’s Deep Crude After First Round Snub (Bloomberg)

Photo: fuelfix.com

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