Financing Mexico’s oil opening
Reserve-based lending could help bring cash into the country's oil patch—if regulators can get the rules right
Mexico's energy reforms have put the country on the map for international oil companies. For the first time in more than 70 years, private firms can take part in its upstream oil and business alongside state-run Pemex. A big question for these private companies, especially smaller exploration and production players, is how they are going to finance their new Mexican business. To open up the country's upstream, new types of contracts are being offered which, while used elsewhere, haven't been implemented in Mexico before. Specifically, Mexico is now awarding private investors production-sharing contracts (PSCs), which allow a percentage of the output as payment, as well as licence agreements
Also in this section
19 January 2026
Newfound optimism is emerging that a dormant exploration frontier could become a strategic energy play and—whisper it quietly—Europe’s next offshore opportunity
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
