-In the second quarter, CFE will call for bids for the first transmission line, with private participation, he said.
-In early December, the fourth bidding of Round One will be held, corresponding to the exploration sites located in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
- As of April 1, 2016, any company will be able to
import gasoline and diesel, which will be reflected in better prices in our
country, he said.
President Peña Nieto highlighted three announcements during the message
he delivered as part of the 35th CERAWeek Global Energy Conference, which
brings together leaders in technology, finance, and industry from the largest
companies in the global energy sector.
Calls for bids for the Federal Electricity Commission transmission line; advancing in Round 1.4, or the fourth tender; and advancing the importation of fuel from third parties. As a result, he said, “Mexico makes it clear that Energy Reform is advancing firmly:
In this event, during which he received the IHS CERAWeek Global Energy Lifetime Achievement Award from Daniel Yergin, co-founder and chairman of CERA, which was awarded for the first time to a head of state, President Peña Nieto explained that in 2015 Mexico went from a single price system for gasoline and diesel to a maximum price scheme, “and as of January 1 this year, service stations will not have to be a franchise of Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), and oil supply will not be conditioned by belonging to a franchise.”
As part of this process, he said that in 2017, companies other than PEMEX will be able to import fuel. “I want to announce that we will bring forward this opening. As of April 1, 2016, any company will be able to import gasoline and diesel, which will be reflected in better prices in our country.”
He said that this openness to imports from third parties is strong action that will trigger strong private investment, and permit intense competition in the fuel sector by the time prices are fully decontrolled, as provided by the law, in 2018.
Addressing an audience of over 2,800 delegates from over 50 countries, the Mexican president said: "We know that you can invest anywhere in the world and that in order to decide to invest in Mexico, you require competitive conditions and full assurance. Consistent with this, I want to be very clear with you, I confirm that we will maintain the rate of bidding for contracts for hydrocarbon extraction.”
He said that in early December, the fourth bidding of Round One will be held, corresponding to the exploration sites located in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
This decision, he added, “Demonstrates and confirms the government’s commitment to the implementation of Energy Reform to make it agile and forceful.”
He added that, “Regardless of the price of oil in the short term, Mexico is determined to have the technological, financial and risk management capacity the global oil industry has already developed for this type of large-scale projects.”
Noting that in the electricity sector, the reform is allowing us to offer more competitive rates for industry, commerce and Mexican households, the Mexican president said that in the second quarter of this year, the Federal Electricity Commission will call for bids for the first transmission line, with private participation as part of Energy Reform.
This important infrastructure project, he said, “Will allow clean energy, wind and water energy, to flow from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and meet demand in the Center 600 kilometers or 372 miles away. It will be the first line built in Mexico to be powered by high voltage direct current technology, with an estimated investment of $1.2 billion USD.
“We will also have a new Law on Energy Transition that will facilitates the incorporation of clean energy in the electricity generation matrix,” he added. We will thereby be enable to ensure that 35% of electricity will come from clean sources by 2024; 40% by 2035 and 50% by 2050, he said.
As he explained that we have evolved from having two state monopolies: one for electricity and one for hydrocarbons to a new model of energy markets characterized by openness and competition; and transparency and legal certainty, the president outlined the guiding principles that will continue to guide the implementation of Energy Reform.
First: “Regardless of what is happening in the international environment, Mexico is proceeding with the implementation of Energy Reform,” he said, stressing that, “Just as I undertook to achieve Energy Reform, I am committed to ensuring its full, effective and timely implementation.”
He added that despite low international oil prices, the world is trusting and investing in Mexico. All the planned bids for contracts for 2015 were held, and increasingly successfully.
“This is not the time to stop; it’s time to move on,” he said.
Second: SECOND. The Mexican government will continue to implement Energy Reform, based on the highest standards of transparency and accountability.
Third: Efforts will continue to ensure that the Mexican energy sector is characterized by quality regulatory and contractual practices, to give full certainty to investors,
To this end, he said, “We will maintain a stable, competitive fiscal framework; while Mexican authorities continue to conduct themselves with complete openness and willingness to continue to improving their processes.”
As part of this conference, recognized worldwide for the vision it provides for the global future of energy, called, on its 35th anniversary, “Energy Transition: Strategies for a New World,” he said that after seven decades of having a fully closed energy sector,” there is much that can be learned from dialogue with the industry to achieve an open, dynamic and competitive energy sector such as the one we are developing in Mexico.”
The president declared that the process of national transformation begun on December 1, 2012 continues. “On the basis of a renewed legal and institutional structure, innovative public policies and a major boost to infrastructure, Mexico is bringing itself up to date with an open, competitive, innovative and growing economy,” he said.
He noted that on the basis of this process of profound change, “We will continue our economic and productive integration with the United States, and by working together, we will make America the most competitive region in the world.”
PEMEX FACES SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES BUT ALSO ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITIES
On the subject of Petroleos Mexicanos, President Peña Nieto said that it faces great challenges but also great opportunities. “Like other oil companies in the world, its challenges are due to lower international oil prices and, like them, it will have to overcome them with smart financial decisions,” he said.
In this respect, “PEMEX will have to focus on reducing costs and achieving greater efficiencies; it will have to prioritize its investments and, above all, it must seize the opportunities for partnership provided by Energy Reform.”
He stressed that the greater opportunity and the main difference between PEMEX and other oil companies is that it has an Energy Reform behind it giving it new instruments and mechanisms to strengthen it structurally, and enable it to address the complex situation.