The Mexican Oil Industry: Problems and Policy Options

Recorded February 9, 2006

Below is the original description of the event.

Mexico — the sixth biggest oil producing nation in the world and one of the three main oil exporters to the United States — appears to have reached a peak oil scenario in which oil output levels are likely to decline sharply in the near term. Meanwhile, the company, which enjoys monopoly status in the Mexican market, is reaching a crisis point on many fronts, ranging from major indebtedness to corporate governance to aging infrastructure. A number of reform options are available to the next Mexican president, but none of them are easy fixes and all could be thwarted by a divided Congress.