Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat: It’s my understanding that Mexico has opened up its oil industry to foreign companies. What do you think would be the best way to profit from this new policy.

Article Excerpt

A: In late 2013, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto signed a law that allows foreign companies to drill for oil for the first time since the sector was nationalized in 1938. The legislation was passed by Congress on December 13, 2013, and ratified by a majority of Mexican states. Private companies are now allowed to sign contracts to drill for oil and gas in partnership with heavily indebted state-controlled firm Pemex, which will get a share of the profits. The law was controversial in Mexico, but Pemex’s oil output has declined for more than a decade due to a lack of investment. It has also nearly exhausted Mexico’s largest oil source, the Cantarell shallow-water field. This has forced the country to shift its attention to deep-water areas. As much as half of Mexico’s prospective oil resources lie in deep water. In December 2016, Mexico undertook its first auction of rights to explore and drill for oil in the deep waters of the Gulf…