For the first time in nearly 80 years, Mexico opened its oil industry to foreign companies, offering 14 offshore exploration blocs in a July 15 auction. However, only two of the blocs were sold, falling short of expectations. ExxonMobil [7], Chevron [8] and Total [9] all passed on the first 14 shallow-water oil blocs in the Gulf of Mexico. A consortium of Mexico-based Sierra Oil & Gas [10], Texas-based Talos Energy [11] and UK-based Premier Oil Plc [12] won Bloc No. 2 after the first bloc didn't receive a bid, Mexico's National Hydrocarbons Commission [13] and Energy Secretariat [14] announced. Only nine companies took part in the auction, fewer than the 25 originally planned. A larger auction is planned for next month. The blocs are near the US-Mexico transboundary waters [15], and close to some of the most significant discoveries of the past 15 years on the US side. A new Hydrocarbon Law [16], allowing for production-sharing and profit-sharing, was instated in 2014. Over the past decade, Mexico has fallen from the world's fifth oil producer to tenth. (FuelFix [17], July 16; FuelFix [18], BBC News [19], July 15; WSJ [20], July 12)
