- Despite the plunge in oil prices, a top Mexican energy official says global oil majors are showing interest in the initial phase of Mexico's bidding round for exploratory oil and gas blocks in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico that will be assigned by the government mid-year.
- The official says the shallow water round is in an area of the Gulf where there is already significant oil production and where costs are less than $20/bbl, making them attractive even in the current environment of depressed prices; a later phase involving more costly production in shale-rock formations will be cut back to offer only the most attractive of the unconventional resources.
- Among the seven companies that have been authorized into the data rooms are Exxon (NYSE:XOM), Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) and BG Group (OTCQX:BRGXF, OTCQX:BRGYY).