Page 11 - NorthAmOil Week 14 2021
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NorthAmOil POLICY NorthAmOil
USTR report voices concern about challenges
faced by US companies in Mexico
US-MEXICO THE Office of the US Trade Representative oil company (NOC) Pemex to develop a large
(USTR) said in a report published last week that crude oil deposit. (The latter appears to be a ref-
Washington was concerned about the increas- erence to Talos Energy, which has been ordered
ing number of obstacles facing US-based inves- to accept the unitisation of its offshore Zama field
tors seeking a foothold in Mexico’s oil and gas with adjacent sites assigned to Pemex.)
industry. The report also noted Washington’s concerns
In the latest edition of its annual report on about the Mexican government’s decision to
barriers to trade, USTR stated that Washington grant more advantages to state-owned oil, gas
had informed Mexico City of US companies’ and electricity companies within the last year. It
complaints about discrimination in the enforce- pointed to changes in public procurement policy
ment of regulations, delays in the permitting pro- that exempted Pemex and the national electric
cess and lack of notice regarding changes to the power provider Comision Federal de Electrici-
policy and regulatory environment. “The United dad (CFE) from certain requirements. US com-
States has raised concerns with Mexico regarding panies believe these revisions have made the
the deteriorating climate for US energy investors procurement process less transparent, it said.
in Mexico,” it wrote. Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez
USTR also cited a number of examples of Obrador has said he believes that state-owned
the concerns raised by US firms. Some com- companies should dominate the energy indus-
panies have reported experiencing long delays try. He has also instructed his government to give
when seeking permits or approvals for filling Pemex and CFE as much of an edge as possible
stations, it said, while others have talked about within the framework of the country’s current
coming under pressure to join with the national legal regime.
ENERGY TRANSITION
Occidental CEO opposes carbon tax for US
US OCCIDENTAL Petroleum’s CEO, Vicki Hollub, operations, which uses carbon dioxide (CO2)
has stated her opposition to the idea of a US car- released during oil production. With EOR
bon tax. Her comments come as other compa- increasingly out of favour owing to the wide-
nies and industry groups have been voicing their spread availability of more accessible oil in tight
support for such a tax. formations, though, Occidental is increasingly
“A carbon tax would be bad for a lot of the turning its attention from the use of CO2 in EOR
industry, a carbon tax would be bad for the to storage for the purposes of decarbonisation.
consumers and especially for those consumers Hollub’s views put Occidental at odds with
Occidental is working who are more disadvantaged from an economic other major producers on the issue of a carbon
on a carbon capture standpoint,” Hollub told the virtual summit of tax. Such a tax is supported by both ExxonMobil
and storage initiative. the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty and Chevron, as well as by the American Petro-
Owners Association this week. “A carbon tax is leum Institute (API), the largest US oil and gas
not what we’re pushing at all,” she said. trade group.
Indeed, Occidental has set itself strict tar- Discussions around a potential carbon tax
gets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emis- come as US President Joe Biden prepares to
sions, aiming to reach net-zero emissions in its unveil a new economy-wide emissions reduc-
operations before 2040. It also wants to turn its tion target for 2030 by April 22 in an effort to
low-carbon unit into a profitable business, and is bring the US into compliance with the goals set
working on a major carbon capture and storage out in the Paris climate agreement. This marks a
(CCS) initiative in the Permian Basin. significant turnaround from Biden’s predecessor,
The company currently collects carbon tax former US President Donald Trump, who took
credits through its enhanced oil recovery (EOR) the US out of the Paris agreement.
Week 14 08•April•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11
