John M. Broder reported from Washington, and Clifford Krauss from Houston.
Thứ Hai, 20 tháng 2, 2012
Mexico and U.S. Agree on Oil and Gas Development in Gulf
The agreement, if ratified by Mexican and American lawmakers, would for the first time provide for joint inspection of the two countries’ rigs in the gulf. Until now, neither was authorized to oversee the environmental and safety practices of the other, even though oil spills do not respect international borders. “Each of the nations will maintain sovereignty and their own regulatory systems,” Ken Salazar, the interior secretary, said from Los Cabos, Mexico, where the agreement was completed. “But what this signifies, and what may be the most significant part of the agreement, is that we’re moving forward jointly with Mexico to ensure we have a common set of safety protocols. “As the Mexicans move into deepwater development,” Mr. Salazar said, “we want to make sure it’s done in a way that protects the environment and is as safe as possible.” The Transboundary Agreement, as it is called, will make up to 1.5 million acres of offshore territory claimed by the United States available for leasing as early as June, though the leases will not become active until a pact is ratified. The Interior Department estimates that the area contains as much as 172 million barrels of oil and 300 billion cubic feet of natural gas, relatively modest amounts by the oil-rich gulf’s standards. Mexico’s oil production has been a major source for the United States for more than 25 years, and it is the single most important revenue-raiser for the Mexican government. But its output has been in sharp decline in the last decade, as energy demand by its growing middle class has risen, forcing a decline in exports and raising the possibility that Mexico could become a net oil importer by the end of the decade. In response, Mexico’s national oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, has started a deepwater drilling program in recent years despite concerns that it is not sufficiently experienced for the task. Under the Mexican Constitution, Pemex cannot bring in a foreign partner like Royal Dutch Shell or Exxon Mobil to develop the gulf reserves, even though those companies have much more expertise in drilling in challenging waters. Pemex has drilled more than a dozen exploratory deepwater wells since 2002, but the results have been mixed. It plans to drill six more wells this year, including two at depths of more than 6,000 feet, where well pressure is customarily high and the possibility of a blowout is greater than in shallower wells. The program has been controversial in Mexico, especially after the BP accident two years ago. Juan Carlos Zepeda, Mexico’s chief oil regulator, has warned that Pemex is not prepared to control a possible leak from the two deepest wells it is planning this year and that the National Hydrocarbons Commission, the three-year-old agency Mr. Zepeda oversees, may be overmatched when it comes to regulating deepwater drilling. With a staff of 60, little logistical capability and a budget of only $7 million, it has had minimal say in how Pemex operates. In 1979, a blowout at one of Pemex’s shallow-water wells called Ixtoc I in the Bay of Campeche resulted in the largest oil spill ever in the gulf until the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. The issue of sharing oil and gas reserves in gulf border waters dates from the 1970s. The two countries negotiated a treaty that would define their exploratory rights in border zones, but the United States Senate declined to ratify it in 1980. Presidents Obama and Felipe Calderón agreed to extend a drilling moratorium in the area until they could negotiate a final accord. The zones are near areas being drilled successfully, but they are in water depths reaching 10,000 feet and are considered vulnerable to hurricanes. “Mexico doesn’t have the resources to combat a major oil spill, and the United States does,” said Jorge Piñon, a former president of Amoco Oil Latin America and a current research fellow at the University of Texas. “Coordination and sharing communications, training, personnel, equipment and technology are essential for safe and productive drilling.” Gasoline prices are on the rise, and Republicans have blamed the administration for being slow to approve more domestic drilling. With the new agreement, coming at a time when the White House is moving closer to approving drilling in Alaskan Arctic waters, Mr. Obama was expected to argue that his policies have led to a surge in domestic production.
