Pemex to offer first Gulf of Mexico drilling contracts after BP oil spill
By Carlos Manuel Rodriguez
Bloomberg
Petroleos Mexicanos, Latin America’s largest oil producer, expects to hire foreign oil companies for the first time to explore and produce in the Gulf of Mexico as it seeks to arrest a five-year decline in output.
The Mexico City-based company plans to offer four exploration and production contracts as early as September and a further three contracts by the end of the year, Carlos Morales, director of exploration and production, said in a telephone interview.
Bonuses will be paid based on the volume and speed of oil recovered and the safety of the projects, he said.
Pemex expects Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp., to help develop reserves after changes to Mexico’s oil laws in 2008 allowed it to hire foreign companies.
The contracts follow a moratorium on U.S. offshore deepwater drilling after the BP spill, the worst in U.S. history.
