Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the new Mexico’s president, pledged to review the contracts issued under a landmark energy reform for any signs of corruption, said Reuters.
Lopez Obrador took office on 1 of December, promising to increase the government’s role in the energy industry and roll back what he described as a 36-year neo-liberal era in which successive governments gradually opened up the economy.
During the election campaign, the president pledged to inspect the contracts with foreign and national oil companies. He also said. they must pump pump oil quickly or no further oil fields would be offered.
Under Mexican law, the independent oil regulator known as the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) runs the auctions, supervises the contracts and is the only entity that can cancel the contracts.
How Lopez Obrador handles the energy industry will be one of the biggest challenges of his six-year term. He has promised to raise oil production from historic lows but has not fully clarified how, beyond promising more investment in the public sector.
