The Mexico Shale Summit 2015 took place in San Antonio, Texas on February 17-18 with the goal of providing insight and analysis on the industry's opportunities and challenges in Mexico, facilitating information-sharing and the creation of new commercial relationships by bringing together the highest profile sector stakeholders.   Given the current market conditions, the event allowed for a much needed transparent and honest dialogue about the future of the hydrocarbons industry in Mexico and the role unconventional and onshore exploration can play. 

 

Despite the recent volatility in the markets, the Mexico energy reforms of 2014 have transformed the hydrocarbon industry and continue to attract international investors, many of whom were present at the event in San Antonio.  The annual Mexico Shale Summit brought together government officials, oil and gas operators, and related service providers from Mexico, Colombia, United States, Canada, Argentina, Belgium, Japan and the Netherlands, as well as financial institutions, investors and vendors, who analyzed and debated onshore exploration and investment opportunities in Mexico.  The event focused on the important regulatory changes affecting future operators within Mexico's oil and gas sector and the country's investment and development scenario.  Timeframes and probabilities of how Mexico onshore and unconventional exploration will evolve and when related necessary infrastructure will be in place for efficient market dynamics to work were key to the discussion. 

 

The event reached 300 senior level executives within the oil and gas and related industries from Texas, Colorado, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Washington DC, New York, Florida, Utah, Maryland, Missouri, Arkansas, Nevada, Ciudad de Mexico, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora, Baja California, Aguascalientes, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Tabasco, Veracruz, Campeche, Jalisco, Puebla, Morelos, Canada, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and the Netherlands.

 

Jay Applewhite, Chairman of Industry Exchange,  welcomed the participants to San Antonio and introduced the Master of Ceremonies, Duncan Wood, Director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.  Duncan's experience, knowledge and insight into Mexico's Energy Reform provided a unique dynamic to the agenda over the course of the two day event.

 

During the two days, 43 speakers and panelists shared extremely valuable insight while engaging with the audience through Q&A's and extensive discussion.  The opening keynote presentation that opened the ceremony was given by Dr. Edgar Rangel Germán –Commissioner at the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH), who has played an integral role in the implementation of recent regulatory changes for Mexico's exploration and production of hydrocarbons.  His presentation provided a relevant update to the reform process and the future of Mexico's upstream and onshore industries.

 

The role of Texas as a strategic partner in the emerging Mexican energy market was discussed as well as the role of local government, availability of financial sources, opportunities for investment, the impact of technology and the availability of resources for the exploration and production of unconventional resources in Mexico.  Delicate issues were also addressed during the two days.  Corporate security and the topic of organized crime was addressed and recommendations of industry best practices were given on how to mitigate operational risks of doing business in remote areas of Mexico.  José Antonio Postigo Uribe – Partner of law firm, Sanchez DeVanny Eseverri, presented the impotant considerations to keep in mind regarding the legal framework and practical applications of land rights of peasants in Mexico or "eijdos" and the use of land of energy projects.

 

Without a doubt, the midstream panel, which included keynote presentations from Dr. David Madero –President of Centro Nacional de Control de Gas Natural CENAGAS, y from Javier Gutierrez Becerril –Subdirector of Modernization at the Comisión Federal de Electricidad CFE, generated significant interest by the participants who commented that the session was informative, insightful, and even entertaining with an amazing line up of experts discussing the future of the midstream industry in Mexico.

 

George P. Bush – Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, was the keynote speaker for the lunch on the second day.  He opened his speech in Spanish and gave a special welcome to the Mexican business men and women to the state of Texas.  He gave a clear overview of the role of the Land Office and its importance to the economic development, education and environment for the state.  He also expressed the State's interest in supporting Mexico achieve it's goals as the Energy Reform rolls out. 

 

The participants, delegates, and sponsors were able to enjoy conversation in a relaxed and entertaining environment during the cocktail session organized and hosted by Industry Exchange.  Among the hundreds that participated were corporate executives from: Pemex, Exxon Mobil, Lewis Energy, Nustar Energy, Weatherford, Key Energy Services, Arendal, Marubeni, Sanchez DeVanny, Aggreko, Saudi Aramco, Banco Interacciones, Schneider Electric,  Pioneer, IHS, Odebrecht, Jogmec, Cummins, Rhodes Enterprise, Grupo R, Ciatec, EY, Mitsui, Tesco, National Oilwell Varco, Bloomberg, Union Pacific, AHMSA, BP, Ritchie Brothers, Laredo Energy, ATCO, SNC Lavalin, Techint, Air Liquide, Mexcap, Walworth, Tesoro, GPA Energy, SM Energy, X-Chem, Cameron, Gyrodata, Holt Cat, and more.   

 

The Mexico Shale Summit, San Antonio 2015, closed the event with an extremely interesting discussion that focused on the economics of natural gas and what the reform means for Mexico.  This dynamic included the participation of Chris Faulkner, CEO of Breitling Energy and Glenn Hart, the CEO of Laredo Energy and was moderated by Charles Blanchard – Head of Gas Research for Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

 

Feedback from the delegates, conference participants, and sponsors indicated that the content was well aligned and insightful, the level of participation was remarkable, and the overall activities organized by Industry Exchange were well orchestrated.  The Mexico Shale Summit, San Antonio 2015 brought to San Antonio a world class event with an excellent platform to foster important relationships with future business partners.  Through the participation of its speakers and panelists, the Summit delivered the necessary fundamentals to consider for the participation in the new hydrocarbon industry in Mexico.

 

Once again, Industry Exchange and the Mexico Shale Summit team would like to thank the participants and delegates including:

 

Associated Partners: Pemex and ProMexico;

 

Sponsors: White & Case, Banco Interacciones, Key Energy Services, Sánchez DeVanny; Southern Pulse; Aeroméxico; Weatherford; Alliance River Crossing; Export Import Bank of the United States –ExIm; BCA; Steelgo; Ekipro 

 

Media Partners: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Camara Mexicana de la Industria de la Construccion – CMIC; Oilpro; SHALE Magazine; The Texas Tribune; Border Energy Forum; Australia-New Zealand-Mexico Chamber of Commerce –ANZMEX; Camara de Integracion Chileno Mexicana – CICMEX; Argus Media; Business Monitor International; United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce;  ICIS; Comité de Energía de la Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos;  Energy Council of the Americas and MexicoShaleGas.com 

 

Upcoming events from Industry Exchange include Mexico Infrastructure Projects Forum on November 11-12, 2015 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon (www.mexicoinfrastructure.com).