Sweeping Mexico Energy Reform Proposal

Keywords:energy reform, climate change, ley de petróleos Mexicanos

On July 31, 2013, Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), Mexico's main opposition political party, delivered a highly anticipated energy reform proposal to the Mexican Senate, which, if passed, has the potential to revolutionize the Mexican energy sector. The proposal calls for amending articles 25, 27 and 28 of the Mexican Constitution and opening the country's oil and gas and electricity sectors to private investment and competition, among other proposed reforms.

Article 27 has been a particularly problematic provision of the Mexican Constitution, restricting, together with Mexico's Regulatory Law, private participation in oil and gas activities in Mexico for more than 60 years. Currently, Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the national oil company, and the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), the national electricity company, have a monopoly over the oil and gas and electricity sectors. The proposal is