Mexico oil boom outlook dims as U.S. drillers cut investment budgets

• The timing couldn't be worse for Mexico in lifting its 75 years of state monopoly in oil production, as plunging oil prices dim the chances that U.S. producers will move in with their fracking and horizontal drilling capabilities.
• Mexican offshore assets have drawn interest from oil majors from Exxon (NYSE:XOM) to Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), but the question is how quickly producers will be willing to move into the higher-risk, more costly prospects in an environment of reduced investment budgets.
• Mexico’s oil regulator this week approved preliminary rules for the first round of bidding on 14 shallow-water oil blocks in July, two months behind the original timetable; the deputy energy minister said bidding terms may be changed for the Chicontepec formation, which holds more than 17B boe.