Senate Democrats removed language on comprehensive permitting reform from an emergency government funding bill passed late Tuesday in a defeat for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and the natural gas industry. Manchin had voted in favor of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) on the condition that Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) include an…
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Despite Strong Push, Mexico Electricity Bill Unlikely to Pass, Says Eurasia’s Petersen
Eurasia Group senior analyst Carlos Petersen forecasts that the Mexican electricity reform has very low odds of approval. The bill “would have to be modified and considerably different than it is currently to have any chance of approval,” Petersen told NGI’s Mexico GPI. The constitutional reform is set to be voted on in the nation’s…

Mexico’s Private Oil, Natural Gas Industry Touts Multibillion Dollar Investments as AMLO Maintains Nationalist Stance
Mexico’s private oil and natural gas industry has invested $18 billion in the country since 2015 and secured approvals to invest another $42 billion as a result of the country’s 2013-2014 constitutional energy reform. That’s according to the Asociación Mexicana de Empresas de Hidrocarburos (Amexhi), Mexico’s private sector oil and gas trade organization. The group…

CFE, Pemex Favoritism Dissuading Investment in Mexico Energy Industry, Expert Says
“One of the priorities of this government is to strengthen the dominance of the two state energy monopolies, which has cut private investors out of the business,” Alejandra López Martínez, energy consultant at Eploc and seasoned Mexico energy industry expert, told NGI’s Mexico Gas Price Index. “Seeing international companies as a synonym for corruption has…

Column: Zama Ruling, Pemex Fire, LPG Company Part of Misguided Energy Policy
Editor’s Note: NGI’s Mexico Gas Price Index, a leader tracking Mexico’s natural gas market reform, is offering the following column by Eduardo Prud’homme as part of a regular series on understanding this process. One month after the midterm elections offered hope for change in the Mexican energy sector, some worrying signs have again begun to…

As Colombia Protests Rage On, ‘Almost All’ Energy Companies Impacted
Colombia’s key oil and gas industry has started to feel the impacts of nationwide protests that have dragged on for three weeks. On Wednesday, Energy Minister Diego Mesa said overall oil production had dropped below the 700,000 b/d mark for the first time since 2009. Several producers working the country have publicly announced adverse impacts.…

Mexico Taking Steps to Undo Energy Reform, Says Former CRE Commissioner
“The energy reform sought to create a sector that operated as a market with technical criteria and with long-term investor certainty, and that is being dismantled,” Guillermo Zúñiga, former Commissioner at the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) from 2013-2019, told NGI’s Mexico Gas Price Index. Zúñiga, currently an international attorney at the Earthjustice environmental nonprofit based…

U.S. Oil, Natural Gas Industry Warns of Economic, Environmental Fallout from Biden Freeze of Federal Leasing
The Biden administration has frozen awarding new oil and gas drilling permits, as well as leases on federal onshore and offshore property, for 60 days, likely heralding more permanent limits to be enacted down the road. The order mandating the freeze was signed by acting Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Scott de la Vega…

Warmer Forecasts Chill February Natural Gas Futures; Cash Prices Drop
Expectations eased for a widespread winter freeze LNG volumes were solid, but lower than January highs Spot prices sputtered amid mild temperatures Natural gas futures plunged on Tuesday after forecasts over the holiday weekend trended warmer for late January and early next month, diminishing prior expectations for a widespread winter freeze that would fuel robust…

E&P Spending Revival Poised for North America, Overseas
Global exploration operators are ready to get back to business in oil and natural gas onshore and offshore, with the international players likely to shell out more funds this year than their Lower 48 compadres. Energy analysts in recent weeks have begun offering their takes on the likely pace of activity and potential capital expenditures…