Mexico govt says closing in on energy reform deal

MEXICO CITY, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Mexico’s government is closing in on a deal with opposition lawmakers to overhaul energy laws, the new interior minister said on Thursday.

“What we need to do is modernize the energy sector,” Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino told Mexican television.


“The parties … have said they are ready to enter the final phase of talks,” Mourino told Mexican radio later.

Mexico, a top three supplier of crude oil to the United States, saw oil exports slip last year to their lowest level since 2002 because of pounding storms and sagging output at the massive Cantarell oil field.

Mourino did not mention details on the reform in the works, but the opposition says it will block any attempt to lift a constitutional ban on private investment in crude oil production. Lawmakers are discussing tweaks to give state oil company Pemex more operational and budgetary autonomy.

Some lawmakers and industry observers have speculated that reform measures could allow companies more presence in gas and oil distribution. Private partnerships in areas like deepwater or cross-border offshore oil fields also are being mulled.

Reuters