The energy reform, that Mexico introduced two years ago, allows private companies to explore for oil and gas for the first time since 1938 and continues to make progress. The third auction in the process has taken place this December and the government has recently published the terms for the fourth.
1. RESULTS OF THE THIRD PHASE
On 15 December 2015, Mexico held its third oil & gas auction of the first oil & gas Round. The tender included 25 licences to extract oil and gas from onshore fields in the states of Chiapas, Nuevo León, Tabasco, Tamaulipas and Veracruz.
The National Commission of Hydrocarbons (CNH) has awarded 100% of the blocks auctioned among the 40 participating companies, which makes this auction the most successful round of those held up till now.
This call was designed to promote the participation of local firms, that´s why most of the successful companies have been Mexican consortiums or companies formed with Mexican capital.
The contractual areas were distributed as follows:
| Company awarded | Contractual area |
| Mexican company Diavaz offshore | 1 and 6 |
| Consortium composed by Sistemas Integrales de Compresión, Nuvoil and Constructora Marusa | 2 |
| Mexican company Consorcio manufacturero mexicano | 3 and 12 |
| Mexican company Grupo Diarqco | 4 and 13 |
| Mexican company Strata Campos Maduros | 5, 8 and 20 |
| Mexican company Servicios de Extracción Petrolera Lifthing de México | 7 |
| Mexican company Construcciones y servicios industriales globales | 8 |
| Mexican company Petrolera Perseus | 9 |
| Consortium composed by Geo Estratos and Geo Estratos Mxoil Exploración and Producción | 10, 17, 19 and 24 |
| Canadian firm Renaissance Oil | 11, 15 and 25 |
| Consortium composed by Canamex Dutch and the Mexican American Oil Tools and Perfolat | 14 and 23 |
| Consortium composed by Roma Energy Holdings with GX Geoscience Corporation and Tubular Technology | 16 |
| Mexican company Sarreal | 21 |
| Consortium composed by Grupo R Exploración y Producción with Constructora y Arrendadora México | 22 |
The auction winners were published on the official website ronda1.gob.mx and the most recent consultation was on 17 December.
2. FOURTH PHASE OF THE OIL AND GAS AUCTION
The Mexican government has announced the fourth auction of the first oil & gas round
The CNH has published the bidding rules of the fourth phase of the auction which will include 10 contractual areas in deep-water and non-conventional areas in the Gulf of Mexico, six exploration blocks in the Salina Basin and four exploration blocks in the Cinturon Plegado Perdido basin. This auction will take place on the second half of 2016.
According to the rules, will be awarded licence contracts and the operators must provide evidence that they have guarantees of US$2 billion or total assets of US$10 billion dollars whereas the non-operating companies must certify guarantees for US$250 million.
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