National Hydrocarbons commission will seek to boost the national oil industry
National Skew during the third phase of Round One

 

Chairman of the Commission announces that pre-qualification criteria will prioritize the experience gathered by the workers of the enterprises, as the fields precisely require experience.

​Unlike the first two phases of the Round One bids for exploration and hydrocarbon production, the third one will consider pre-qualification criteria that will not privilege the experience of the bidding companies, but the experience of their workers, aiming at boosting the national oil industry. The above was stated by the Chairman of the National Hydrocarbon Commission, Juan Carlos Zepeda.

Interviewed by El Economista, Zepeda explained that one of the goals of the energy reform is to boost the Mexican oil industry; however, the specific needs for exploration and development of the first two phases involving off-shore projects led the Ministry of Energy to request proven experience in similar fields –something that largely Mexican companies lack of, either contractors or newly-established ones, given the legal exclusivity granted to Pemex on these activities for more than seven decades.

​But this will be different during the third phase –which will consider a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 40 on-shore fields already discovered and identified for development, The characteristics of those blocks require skilled engineers; as such, a great deal of the Mexican talent that has either left Pemex or that has worked in the Mexican industry for decades could create companies and bid to fulfill the pre-qualification requirement that will be published before the end of April.

“Technical and financial criteria will no longer be focused on the experience that the companies could present and prove as a whole, but in the parameters that the Ministry of Energy with our technical support is currently developing and considering to conform the pre-qualification agreements. In these contracts, the companies will have to prove the wide experience of their staff; here in Mexico we have many talented engineers that will be attracted to participate in this phase of the bidding process”, stated the head of the regulatory body.