Letter from Mexico: Deepwater ambitions drowning in debt

Mexico must harness the vast resources in the Gulf to meet the government’s goal of energy autonomy

Deepwater Gulf of Mexico is a province retaining significant potential for oil and gas exploration wins, but Mexico’s search for these prizes has lagged significantly behind that of the US. Now, under the presidency of Andres Lopez Obrador, Mexico is seeking to recentre the oil industry as the country’s primary lever for socioeconomic development. And the country must try to capitalise on existing deepwater Gulf resources and find more to make Lopez Obrador’s dream of energy sovereignty viable. It is likely too late, though, for the basin to contribute materially to a 2024 output target of 2.6mn bl/d. Despite the current administration’s stated focus on its NOC reducing debt, Pemex remains t