Obrador

During his regular early-morning press conference a week ago, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador finally announced a long-awaited financial package intended to reversefortunesat the national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), which is suffering from 15 years of production decline and is $104 billion in debt.

Mexico’s Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE) on Tuesday denied a series of accusations made against it regarding construction delays to seven natural gas pipeline systems by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the CEO of state power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Manuel Bartlett.

A local price index for natural gas in Mexico will develop over time, but it will likely depend on increased production of domestic natural gas resources, a group of experts said earlier this month.

Imported natural gas will continue to be a growing part of the energy mix in Mexico despite calls from the new government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador to reengineer the sector, according to a range of opinions shared at Industry Exchange’s 4th Mexico Infrastructure Projects Forum in Monterrey, Mexico Jan. 16-17.

Mark Twain’s famous quip, that “The report of my death was an exaggeration,” could well apply to Mexico’s energy reform.

Mexico’s national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) plans to ramp up natural gas production by 50% in the next six years, to reach 5.7 Bcf/d by the end of 2024, CEO Octavio Romero Oropeza is forecasting.

The state-centric policies of Mexico’s new government could threaten the autonomy of the country’s energy regulators, according to experts.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who took office Dec. 1, had a tumultuous first week in office, with major implications for the energy sector.

Leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Saturday was sworn in as Mexico’s president and in a fiery inaugural speech called for a “transformation” of the country to end impunity and fight corruption in the interest of the poor.