LatAmOil: API blasts AMLO for favouring Pemex

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has come under fire from an influential US industry association for his efforts to ensure that state-owned companies continue to dominate the domestic energy sector.

In a letter sent to several high-ranking US officials, the American Petroleum Institute (API) criticised the Mexican government’s policy of giving preference to public-sector organisations such as Pemex, the national oil company (NOC), and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). This policy has become part of Mexico’s legal regime following the presidential administration’s successes in amending the Power Industry Law and the Hydrocarbons Law last month, it noted.

The API argued in its letter – which was sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai – that the amendments to these laws were causing investors to lose confidence in Mexico. It also alleged that Mexico City’s actions contravened the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which took effect last year, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).