Many of us would recognise the saying that suggests if you want a different result, taking the same approach to a problem repeatedly may not do much good.

That’s one thought that comes to mind about the push in Mexico to give Pemex continued rights to a group of exploration assignments where it has repeatedly failed to meet its work commitments.

This week, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's administration got its technical OK for Pemex to hang on to the basic acreage position it was granted in Round Zero in 2014, despite a dramatic failure to complete its work programmes. A study by the CNH oil regulator indicates that, on more than half of the tracts, Pemex has carried out between nothing and 20% of the promised work, despite a previous two-year extension. As yet there have been no real consequences.

It’s hard to give CNH too much flack for its technical approval for the policy given the lack of potential bid rounds in which to include any revoked areas — under the current policy renewing the assignments may be the only chance that the areas will bear fruit.

The hope is that Pemex will commit to more realistic programmes and better prioritise its resources. Newly committed exploration funds may help.

The retention of the deep-water assignments is also a bit nonsensical given the Lopez Obrador administration’s dislike for those type of projects and their removal from the company’s short-term business plan. That is despite Pemex's own estimates that regard deep-water as a hefty chunk of the country’s resource potential.

It’s one thing if Pemex wants to focus its own strategy on shallow water and onshore areas, but it has nothing to lose in its production drive except nationalistic bragging rights to allow somebody else to give the opportunity a go.

The deep-water areas would be an area ripe for a limited farm-out programme or bid offering for private companies.

Acreage that remains idle does little to increase production. If Mexico wants different results, it might well consider a different approach.

Weekly

Mexico policy needs a different approach