AMLO backsteps in praise to Eni, preludes private energy push

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ceded praise to Italian energy giant Eni for its recent oil and gas discovery in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico, adopting a more pragmatic tone on private sector E&P than has been seen in recent weeks. 

“Basically this Italian oil company has one of 110 contracts conceded during energy reforms, and it is very important to point out that this is the first company to actually produce, to extract oil,” said the president, known here as AMLO, in his morning press conference Wednesday.

“They are already in the process of expansion, and they have made this new discovery, which is going to mean a significant increase in oil production,” he said. 

“It is very good news,” he added. 

The comments emerged Wednesday as the clock ticks on the awaited announcement of a second round of infrastructure project investments set to occur. 

Meanwhile, AMLO’s chief-of-staff Alfonso Romo, an envoy to business interests in the country’s capitalism-friendly north, appears increasingly poised to present a revised framework for a shared-risk model for energy private investment in the coming weeks. 

After having making little mention of the official in previous weeks, he said:

“Yes, we are working on that, it corresponds to the coordination of the cabinet, headed by Alfonso Romo, we are already defining these projects to move forward and we will present here with you, the energy sector investment projects, where resources will be dedicated from the private sector, from the public sector and from foreign investment.” 

Romo has emerged as a foil to energy secretary Rocío Nahle, who has been steadfast in fulfilling a vision where state sovereignty over energy concerns is absolute. Romo has worked in recent months to keep hopes of private participation in the energy sector alive.