Mexican Congress Passes Historic Energy Reform

Keywords: Mexican Congress, Historic Energy Reform

The Mexican Congress has approved a constitutional reform that will open Mexico's energy sector to investment and competition. To become law, the bill now needs to be approved by a majority of Mexico's state legislatures, which is expected soon.

During the debate, the Senate made important revisions to the bill, including providing more flexibility for Congress in establishing upstream contractual frameworks. The bill passed the lower house (Cámara de Diputados) unchanged.

The energy reform will revolutionize the country's energy sector and bring about the most significant overhaul of the sector since 1938. The reform would likely result in an influx of the private capital, technology and technical expertise needed to develop Mexico's abundant energy resources, particularly its deepwater, ultra-deepwater and shale resources.