Debate set to bog down Mexican oil law
A heated debate over the future of Mexico's oil industry will drag on for
months, delaying President Felipe Calderon's plans to give foreign companies
a bigger say in the country's sagging energy sector after leftists have
forced him into holding a long "national debate" in the Senate.
The debate will last until at least July and will feature not only politicians
but also academics, industry experts and other public figures.
Energy Minister Georgina Kessel kicks off the debate today, presenting the
government's case that Mexico needs to allow private companies to join with
state oil monopoly Pemex to seek oil in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The leftist opposition fears that Calderon's plan will mean a creeping
privatisation of Pemex and admits that its strategy is to drag out the
debate as long as possible. A vote might not happen until August or later,
Reuters reported.
"(We are) slowing things down," said Senator Pablo Gomez of the leftist Party
of the Democratic Revolution.
Calderon's plan would let Pemex use performance-based contracts to pay
companies to go after potentially large oil deposits lying under the deep
waters of the Gulf and to develop onshore fields where tricky rock
formations make pumping oil out more difficult.
08 May 2008 03:21 GMT
| last updated:
08 May 2008 03:21 GMT
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