Mexico

Mexico’s federal antitrust commission on Wednesday approved a stalled billion-dollar deal for a unit of San Diego-based Sempra Energy to acquire a 50% interest in a group of energy pipelines and an associated storage terminal from Mexico’s national energy company, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). The deal is expected to close later this month.

Liberalization of Mexico’s energy sector began in 2013, and so far the results have been less than hoped for. The country’s oil production continues to decline, quickly, and real/perceived “above-ground” risk is clouding opportunities for outside investment, analysts at Raymond James & Associates Inc. said in a note Monday.

After more than two months of relative calm, the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season has become significantly more active, prompting operators in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to shut in more than 11% of oil and more than 5% of natural gas, but — for the moment, at least — the chances of any significant disruption seem to have lessened.

Physical natural gas for weekend and Monday delivery worked lower in Friday’s trading as buyers saw little reason to commit to three-day deals.

The Alberta government’s investment arm announced Monday that it has agreed to purchase a $500 million stake in Howard Energy Partners LLC, a San Antonio-based midstream company with assets in the Eagle Ford and Marcellus shales but also recently expanding into Mexico.

NET Mexico Pipeline Partners LLC is holding a nonbinding open season through Sept. 30 for expansion capacity on the NET Mexico Pipeline, which carries natural gas from the Agua Dulce Hub in South Texas to the Texas-Mexico border near Rio Grande City in Texas.

Natural gas production from shales will account for 30% of global output by 2040 as shale resources are developed in more countries, particularly Mexico and Algeria, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Houston-based Key Energy Services Inc., an onshore oilfield services/products provider, has agreed to pay $5 million in disgorgement to settle charges that it violated provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Friday.

The natural gas supply story (too much, too cheap) is all too familiar. Trending, though, is the demand story of gas-fired power generation and exports to Mexico. Spectra Energy Corp./Partners LP executives were enthusiastic about both during a second quarter earnings conference call on Wednesday.