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02.02.2018 9:03

Mexico Hopes for First Shale Oil and Gas Auction by the End 2018

AUTHOR: publics.bg

© Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos

Mexico hopes to hold its first shale oil and gas auction by the end of 2018, the head of the country’s oil regulator has told Reuters, potentially opening up one of the world’s top reserves of unconventional energy to foreign investors.

The rapid rise in oil and gas pumped from shale reserves in the United States in the past decade has revolutionized the country’s energy industry, reversed declining output and contributed to a sharp reduction in global energy prices.

Many other countries hold shale reserves, but have been unable to replicate the success of the United States. Mexico’s state oil firm Pemex has done some drilling in the country’s shale reserves, but produced little.

Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission is waiting for authorization from the energy ministry to hold the auction, said CNH head Juan Carlos Zepeda. “We are waiting for the ministry of energy to establish the specific schedule,” he said. The tentative schedule “would be to award the blocks before the end of this year.”

Mexico liberalized its energy sector in 2014, and has since held nine auctions for oil and gas fields both onshore and offshore. None of those auctions included shale fields. A presidential election in July may slow the pace of auctions. The leading candidate for the election, leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has said he would review the contracts awarded since the reform, Reuters also noted.