Oil law reform: Board set for National Hydrocarbons Commission.
Mexico names board of oil regulator
Mexico named the five-member board of directors of the new National Hydrocarbons Commission, a regulatory agency created late last year when the country's energy legislation was overhauled.
The commission will set technical standards in Mexican oil and gas fields, including rules on reservoir management and production practices.
The five board members appointed today are all veteran civil servants or former Pemex employees, according to a Reuters report.
State-run Pemex traditionally set many of the standard operating procedures.
One of the aims of last year's energy reform was to improve regulatory supervision of Pemex while focusing the company more on being an operator.
The new agency will also play an important role if Pemex succeeds in bringing in private companies as contractors that operate oil fields on its behalf.
The centerpiece of the energy reform was a relaxation of the rules governing how Pemex contracts for services.
The company will now be permitted to pay cash bonuses to contractors for achieving set goals such as cost savings or productivity improvements.
Pemex hopes to use this contractual arrangement to bring in private sector partners, including major international oil companies, to help it explore for and produce oil.