The idea of a Mexico oil/energy cluster

By Adina Moloman

Sources: The Economist, Oil Price

A local transition towards sustainable energy systems and energy efficiency improvement is a high goal in Mexico and a significant benefit to the sector manufacturing in Mexico.

The window of opportunity is large, given the fact the recent reforms that Mexico Government plans to introduce to Mexico’s energy sector. For the first time in more than 7 decades, foreign companies have the choice to invest in exploration and production ventures in Mexico.

It is expected that these will boost the country’s oil output. Energy in Mexico is the biggest industry that is linked to the Mexico Maquiladora sector and other productive sectors.

The opportunities that Mexico is presenting to international oil companies are especially on the field ofshale formations, and deep-water oil field, that are largely untouched.

This year many decisions will be made: laws that will provide enough flexibility that different royalty and fiscal terms can be written into individual contracts; a legislation that will be setting out the parameters for Pemex’s and foreign oil companies ability to compete and to establish partnerships and to form strategic alliances. By the end of September the decision will be take over what oil and gas fields Pemex will develop, and which will be licensed or contracted out to foreign giants.

According to Enrique Ochoa, Mexico’s deputy energy minister, the government will push to create an oil cluster in Mexico following the Brazil example. Petrobras, the country’s state-controlled oil company is counting with impressive R&D labs in Brazil, surrounded by international oil companies doing their own high-tech research. The giant of Brazilian technology Petrobras is the world’s third-largest oil company and has more than 1,600 people employed in research and development, and ten times more researchers at outside institutes and universities, working full-time on the company’s projects.

At a short run is hoping that Pemex innovative skills to improve dramatically once its monopoly is ended with the help of signing private contracts and partnerships between Pemex and other oil companies.