New PEMEX bill to be introduced tomorrow…

The Senate Energy Committee is said to be close to a final draft bill for consideration.  David Agren has been following this for The (Mexico City) News — hope he gets some vacation time after the vote.

The Senate Energy Committee on Sunday rejected the idea of creating additional Pemex subsidiaries for activities such as refining, transportation and storage as it put the finishing touches on a comprehensive energy reform package.

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“[Pemex] . will not offer service contracts nor will we expose [entire] areas of work exclusively to private companies,” said PRD Sen. Graco Ramírez.

The Sunday bargaining left lawmakers close to reaching an agreement on a provision that would reform the regulatory regime of Article 27 of the Constitution – which reserves petroleum-related activities, including exploration and exploitation, to the state …

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Five of … seven key points on energy reform previously being discussed were given first reading last week, including a measure that would create a National Hydrocarbons Commission to oversee Pemex and its subsidiaries. Other points aim to foment the use of alternative energy sources, establish rules in the public sector for sustainable energy use, and require the Energy Secretariat to present a nationwide energy strategy.

What role, if any, the U.S. financial crisis (or rather, regulatory failure) played in destroying even PAN support for “privatization” I can’t say.  I’ll be interested to see what the final draft says about the PEMEX union, and if any of my original predictions hold up.  I’d expected much of PEMEX’s social services activities to be folded into other Federal programs,  more emphasis on national self-sufficiency in gasoline (which is included),  and a new management structure.  So far, I’m 2 for 3.