Upstream contract review may signal new battle

摘要

Mexico has announced a fresh review of upstream oil and gas contracts that coincides with a furry of force majeure notifcations from independent operators, potentially testing the autonomy of oil regulator CNH. “It is possible that we are going to see the government put pressure on CNH to reject these force majeure notifcations,” energy lawyer Luis Miguel Labardini says. “It all depends on how autonomously CNH will be able to act.” The upstream review, revealed this month as part of Mexico’s 2020-24 energy policy, will evaluate contracts in an “integral manner”, paying close attention to the tax revenues and oil rents secured to ensure they are providing “maximum benefts for Mexican development”, the government says.