LEGAL UPDATE
December 2015
ROUND ONE
FOURTH CALL-TO-BID
On December 17, 2015, fourth call-to-bid number CNH-R01-C04/2015 for International Public
Bid number CNH-R01-L04/2015 regarding the process known as Round One, issued by the
National Hydrocarbons Commission (Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos) (CNH) as a
Coordinated Regulatory Agency, was issued in the Federal Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la
Federación).
Said bidding process includes 10 contractual areas located in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico,
within the oil provinces of Cinturón Plegado Perdido, off the coast of Tamaulipas (4 areas), and
Salina Basin, off the coast of Veracruz (6 areas). The private sector will be able to operate such
contractual areas through License Contracts to develop hydrocarbon exploration and extraction
activities, in order to obtain revenue for the State that will contribute to the long-term
development of the Nation, as the Government will be responsible to carry out exploration and
extraction activities for oil and other hydrocarbons through allocations to Productive StateCompanies or through contracts with Productive State Companies or with the private Sector.
In order to participate in the referred bid as an operator or as an investor in contractual areas in
deep waters, participants must comply, among others, with the following requirements:
1. Regarding technical and execution expertise and capability for operators:
I.
II.
Evidence of a) experience as operator during 2011 – 2015, in at least one
exploration and/or extraction project in deep waters, with a taut exceeding 1,000
meters, and b) capital investments in exploration and/or extraction projects in an
aggregated total amount of at least US$2,000 million Dollars, and
Evidence of experience in industrial safety and environmental protection matters
during the last five years; that is, the operator must be experienced in the
implementation and operation of industrial safety, operational safety, and
environmental protection management systems in exploration and/or extraction
facilities or projects.
2. Regarding financial capability for operators:
I.
Evidence of equity of at least US$2,000 million Dollars, or
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II.
Evidence of total assets worth at least US$10,000 million Dollars and an
investment grade credit rating (Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service, or
Standard & Poors).
3. Regarding financial capability for investors: evidence of a net worth of at least US$250
million Dollars.
Additionally, within the pre-qualification requirements, the Bid Rules indicate that those
companies which were positively pre-qualified in aspects regarding the data room, source of
financial resources, and legal documents during bidding number CNH-R01-L01/2014 (regarding
the award of Production-Sharing Contracts for Hydrocarbon Exploration and Extraction in
Shallow Waters, First Call-to-Bid) and/or in public bid number CNH-R01-L02/2015 (regarding the
award of Production-Sharing Contracts for Hydrocarbon Exploration and Extraction in Shallow
Waters, Second Call-to-Bid) will be considered to have automatically evidenced such aspects for
this fourth bidding process.
Finally, as previously mentioned, through the publication of this bidding process, all private
companies (whether domestic or international), including Productive State Companies, are
called to participate, pursuant to the provisions set forth in the rules of the bid, same which are
available for consultation in the following website http://www.ronda1.gob.mx.
In case of requiring further information, please contact the partner responsible for your affairs or one of the following attorneys.
Mexico City Office:
Juan Carlos Machorro G., [email protected] (Partner)
Bernardino Arenas F., [email protected] (Associate)
Cecilia Sarabia D., [email protected] (Associate)
Tel: (+52 55) 5279-5400
Monterrey Office:
Jorge Barrero S., [email protected] (Partner)
Tel: (+52 81) 8133-6000
Tijuana Office:
Aarón Levet V., [email protected] (Partner)
Tel: (+52 664) 633-7070
Oficina Querétaro:
José Ramón Ayala A., [email protected] (Partner)
Tel: (+52 442) 290-0290
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