Page 109 - Forbes - USA (March 2018)

Promotion

MEXICO

economic resilience despite nafta uncertainty

With the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) hanging in the balance and President Trump
continuing to talk tough, you might imagine that Mexico’s economy was suffering, that investors — especially those
from the U.S. — were staying away and that Mexican businesses were retrenching. Quite the opposite is true.

The peso is healthy and Mexico’s onshore fields with an unconven-
foreign direct investment (FDI) is tional component — Mexico has
booming. Over the first three a lot of those,” Waggoner states.
quarters of 2017, it received Photo: Rincones de mi Tierra In addition, the company is
$21.75 billion in FDI, up 10% from “evaluating other zones, because
2016, with 40.3% coming from we have identified tremendous
new investments and 47.8% from opportunities and there are
U.S. investors. Companies in huge areas for new discoveries.”
Mexico are very optimistic, what- MPC plans to finance its larger
ever happens to NAFTA. projects with the help of equity
“It is true that if we cannot investors or banks, which are
solve NAFTA, we’ll face chal- increasingly interested in Mexi-
lenges,” says Angel M. Junquera can energy. This is due to the
Sepúlveda, lawyer and partner at fact that reforms in the sector
Junquera y Forcada, “but behind were built after consultation with
every problem is an opportunity, Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City businesses, he thinks: “The inter-
and Mexico offers a great oppor- play between public and private
tunity.” He predicts, “There will “Behind every problem is an opportunity, and is extraordinary here. Investors
be a boom in the energy sec- look at that and go, ‘Wow, with
tor within five or six years,” due Mexico offers a great opportunity.” that kind of certainty, and open
to recent industry reforms that and active relationship, Mexico is
anGel m. Junquera sepúlveda
have opened it up to private the kind of place where I want to
lawyer and partner, Junquera y forcada
investments. put my investment.’”
William J. Waggoner, CEO of the immense size of the country’s team he describes as “a mixture
U.S.-owned Mexico Petroleum onshore reserves. While waiting of preeminent geologists and Growth in mexican-u.s. trade
Company (MPC), agrees: “The for these to become available to petroleum engineers from Mex- Manufacturing received 43.4%
Mexico-U.S. trade relationship is private investors, Waggoner’s ico and the U.S., and Spanish- of the FDI in Mexico in the first
not going away and the billions company worked in the U.S.’s speaking drillers who were the nine months of 2017 and is
of barrels of oil in Mexico are not Permian Basin, becoming effi- backbone of the Permian Basin’s another booming sector seeing
going away either.” cient at finding and extracting development.” MPC focuses on increasing Mexican-U.S. interac-
Waggoner has been studying oil cost-effectively. “the safe and efficient explora- tion. Arturo Merikanskas, CEO
Mexico’s oil and gas since the In Mexico, he has taken that tion and production of oil and of Grupo Merik Enterprises, a
1980s, when he became aware of experience and put together a gas from mature, established manufacturer and distributor of
Mexico Petroleum Company
an exploration and production company
Vision and Commitment
We combine decades of successful oil and
gas experience in Mexico with the best
practices of Permian Basin state-of-the-art
production technology.
Mexico Petroleum Company 222 Paseo de la Reforma, Level 18, Col. Juarez, Mexico City, 06600
Phone: +52 (55) 1253 7188 | Fax: +52 (55) 1253 7090 | Mexicopetroleumcompany.com

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Economic Development