Regulatory roundup: Mexico reset, Peru guidelines, Colombian LNG and more

Mexico's energy sector has positive first impression of Sheinbaum but awaits key legislation

After a decade of upheaval in the Mexican energy sector, hopes are rising for a reset under the presidency of Claudia Sheinbaum.

A former climate scientist, Sheinbaum has set ambitious goals to expand the country’s renewable energy capacity. She has also pledged to grow downstream industries such as petrochemicals and fertilizers. To meet her goals, Sheinbaum has indicated that she will be much more open to private investment than her predecessor and fellow Morena party member Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Pemex pledges business as usual as it halts contracts and conducts budgetary review

Mexico's state-owned oil and gas company Pemex has said that a suspension of contracts with upstream contractors will not compromise the continuity of its operations.

In a press release published last week, the company said that its upstream arm Pemex Exploración y Producción (PEP) had requested a "temporary suspension" of contractual processes which had not yet been concluded. 

The suspension will last until the end of the year, when Pemex expects to complete an efficiency and budgetary review for 2025.

Petroperú calls for tender to find an operating partner for lot 64

Petroperú today launched a call for tenders to find a strategic partner to assume the role of operator of Lot 64, located in the Datem del Marañón district in the Loreto region, which has 55 million barrels of light oil reserves discovered in the Situche Central field. Initial production is estimated at 10 thousand barrels of oil per day.

Petroperú currently has a 100% stake in the license contract for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons and is willing to cede part of its stake in said contract to an operating partner for the development of the lot.

Chile project lawyer talks territorial management, permitting

Obtaining permits for projects in Chile can present significant challenges for developers, particularly those in the energy, desalination and mining sectors.

A chief factor at play, or at least one of those most debated at present, is the complexity of the permitting process, something which the current administration is trying to address via a pair of bills.

Another important and interrelated factor is territorial planning and, specifically, acceptance of large projects by communities, particularly if some have already been built in their vicinity. 

A further challenge for energy projects in particular is that they, unlike residential developments for example, must be built where energy resources are found. 

Snapshot: The key fine-print of Argentina’s economic framework law on hydrocarbons

Permitting the market to set prices of hydrocarbons and maintaining a degree of control over exports are two of the central pillars of a new block of secondary legislation governing the implementation of Argentina’s economic framework law.

The law, aimed at advancing deregulation, a key tenet of libertarian President Javier Milei's economic plans, changed existing rules to permit “greater development of oil and gas exploration, extraction and exportation, and to improve competition and transparency,” an executive branch resolution states. 

Published on Friday, the much-anticipated fine print lays out the terms and conditions for producers, retaining mechanisms to ensure that local demand is met and empowering the federal energy department to fully or partially object to specific export operations.

Sheinbaum sees Mexico’s energy policies protecting Pemex from possible Trump tariffs

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that the country's energy sovereignty policies would mute the impact of any possible US tariffs on crude oil imports from state-owned oil company Pemex.

US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested levying tariffs of 25% on imports from Mexico.

"Mexico already exports much less oil," Sheinbaum said at her morning press conference in Mexico City. "This is part of a project of sovereignty, for the oil that we produce to be refined in Mexico and sold in Mexico."

Pemex recently said that its monthly crude oil exports in 2024 have fallen to an average of 792,000b/d, down from 1.03Mb/d in 2023.

Peru further defines environmental oversight for hydrocarbons activity

Peru’s energy and mines ministry approved guidelines to accompany the environmental remediation process for the hydrocarbons sector.

The guidelines are called for in supreme decree 021-2020-EM, which modified the regulation creating the environmental remediation contingency fund in a bid to optimize and streamline such work.

The procedure outlines the minimum work plan to draft and execute rehabilitation plans as well as requirements for monthly reporting and the submission of a final report.

Peru to streamline environmental framework for hydrocarbons, petchem

Peru’s energy and mines ministry opened consultation for proposed changes to the environmental framework for the hydrocarbons and petrochemical sectors.

One tweak would modify the regulation for environmental protection in hydrocarbon activities.

“The regulatory proposal seeks to address the problem generated by the current sectoral environmental regulations, according to which the hydrocarbon activity owner must delay the implementation of certain actions to carry out an administrative procedure of prior evaluation,” according to the ministry.

Argentina’s Rigi energy project pipeline grows, rules tweaked

Southern Energy has become the latest sector firm in Argentina to confirm plans to tap the government’s Rigi investment incentives regime for large-scale projects.

Southern Energy wants to export LNG from a vessel offshore Río Negro province, an initiative that would require US$2.90bn in investment in 2025-35, local press reported.

The company, owned by British-Chinese-Argentine hydrocarbons producer Pan American Energy (PAE) and London-based LNG logistics firm Golar, would moor a floating production vessel off the coast of the southern province, which has adhered to the Rigi regime.

The initiative involves initially producing when domestic demand for natural gas slackens, typically over the warmer months of the year. However, talks are underway to permit constant production, state-controlled oil firm YPF said in recent days.

Ecopetrol 'advancing' with new LNG import project

Colombia could ramp up natural gas imports from a new LNG terminal on the country's Caribbean coast amid wider efforts to avert a looming deficit of the fuel, state-run energy company Ecopetrol said on Thursday. 

Ecopetrol aims to utilize existing infrastructure at the Chuchupa offshore field to incorporate a regasification facility with capacity of 200-300Mf3/d (million cubic feet per day).

"We are advancing with conceptual engineering and the licenses required to develop this project," Ecopetrol's head of low-emission solutions, David Riaño, told investors in a quarterly earnings call. 

He said the company had sought government support for an overhaul of existing rules that prevent it from importing natural gas.