2014 Mexico City Blog: Energy Reform Panel and Hydrocarbons Undersecretary Lourdes Melgar

By
Carin Zissis

Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya, Chevron President Ali Moshiri, and IEnova Chairman & CEO Carlos Ruiz Sacristán outlined the country's energy reforms and talked about how foreign and domestic investment could impact the sector.

Speakers:

  • Chantal Kordula, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (Moderator)
  • Emilio Lozoya, CEO, Pemex
  • Ali Moshiri, President, Africa & Latin America Exploration & Production Company, Chevron
  • Carlos Ruiz Sacristán, Chairman & CEO, IEnova

Keynote Remarks:

  • Lourdes Melgar, Undersecretary of Hydrocarbons, Secretariat of Energy

At a time when the secondary laws for the country's much-anticipated energy reform are up for consideration in Mexico's Congress, energy leaders explored what the reform means for the country and investment.

Pemex's Emilio Lozoya said energy reform was a taboo for decades, but declining oil production globally, among other factors, opened the possibility for it to happen. There's a need to attract investment, technology, and skilled labor to the sector, he said, emphasizing the need for a new culture of productivity in the company, as well as the demand for human capital. He also said Pemex will experience a deep restructuring after the secondary laws pass. 

Chevron's Ali Moshiri cautioned that progress won't be immediate and that the challenge will be to avoid people second guessing the legal decisions and to convince everyone that the process will be transparent. But he also noted that Pemex will be Chevron's most important business partner and that North American integration can reduce costs, increase technical exchanges, and help increase production. 

IEnova's Carlos Ruiz Sacristán stressed that the energy reforms are crucial because Mexico's overall competitiveness depends on competitive energy. 

Undersecretary of Hydrocarbons Lourdes Melgar followed the panel with an in-depth look at the energy reform's secondary laws, calling them a system of weight and counterweights in which not just one institution will make a decision on contracts. Melgar also said there will be no secrets in the contracts, which will be public and without conflicts of interest.

She outlined a number of goals for the energy reform, including adding 500,000 jobs by 2018 and 2.5 million by 2025.

Watch a video of the remarks (en español):