The legislative package reshaped the legal framework governing hydrocarbons, electricity, geothermal energy, Pemex, CFE and Mexico’s energy regulators.
On August 6, 2014, Congress completed the approval of the principal package of secondary legislation implementing Mexico’s constitutional energy reform of December 2013, which at that time remained subject to enactment and publication by the Federal Executive.
The reforms introduced substantial changes to the hydrocarbons and electricity sectors, as well as to the legal framework governing Pemex and CFE. Among other measures, they established new allocation and contract structures for hydrocarbon exploration and extraction, expanded private and foreign participation in various energy activities, and created a new Wholesale Electricity Market.
The legislative package also introduced a new framework for geothermal energy, amended foreign investment rules, redefined the corporate structure and governance of Pemex and CFE as State Productive Enterprises, and strengthened the powers of the National Hydrocarbons Commission and the Energy Regulatory Commission.
It also created the National Agency for Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection of the Hydrocarbons Sector and introduced new mechanisms relating to land occupation, national content, permits, industrial safety and environmental protection. Taken together, the reforms represented a structural transformation of Mexico’s energy sector legal framework.
