Mexico To Tender Licenses To Exploit 10 Deep-Water Gulf Areas
Wednesday, December 16, 2015 (Reuters)
MEXICO CITY – Mexico will tender licenses to explore and drill 10 deepwater areas in the Gulf of Mexico as part of a landmark opening of its long-closed oil sector, the country’s energy regulator said on Wednesday.
Four of the areas in the Perdido Fold Belt are expected to contain light crude, regulator CNH said.
No date has been set for the auction, but it will be decided in the third quarter of 2016, CNH President Juan Carlos Zepeda said, adding the auction will “absolutely” take place next year.
The deepwater contracts are some of the most prized assets available to foreign investors after the government opened up its long-shuttered energy sector last year, in part to better exploit its deepwater reserves.