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A decade of changes in oil & Gas industry in Mexico: towards safety at sea
The changing industry According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Mexico is the world’s 11th largest oil producer and has prospective resources of 112.8 billion barrels of crude oil according to the country’s National Hydrocarbon Commission (CNH). Most of the country’s oil resources are found offshore in both shallow and deepwater fields in the Gulf of Mexico and centered around the region of Campeche. The oil and gas market in Mexico is going through a turbulent decade. Following the Energy Reform of 2013, the government approved international companies developing upstream projects in Mexico for the first time since the country nationalized its oil industry in 1938. Since then, Mexico has held 3 licensing bid rounds. In 2016’s licensing Round One, the Mexican government offered 10 exploratory blocks in total, estimating that they contained as much as 11 billion barrels of oil and natural gas — equivalent to estimates of oil and gas reserves in the South China Sea. Eight of those blocks were awarded to international companies including Total, ExxonMobil, Equinor and Chevron (all of which are Reflex Marine’s clients globally). The most recent licensing round in 2018 was the first offering deepwater fields. It brought further new entrants to the market and more independent companies, increasing the mix of foreign investment in oil and gas offshore Mexico (Shell, Repsol, Lukoil, Eni, among others).
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