Oil and gas players have begun lining up for Mexico’s second shallow-water bid round, with 19 companies expressing interest, six requesting data room access and three signing up for pre-qualification.

Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) said the trio requesting pre-qualification so far are US supermajor Chevron and Norway’s Statoil, close observers of the country’s other rounds, as well as US independent ConocoPhillips.