US companies poised to moved into Mexican oil industry after reform vote -- By Zack Colman, The Washington Examiner

Mexico's Congress sounded the starting gun this week for a rush of potentially billions of dollars in oil and gas investment when it passed energy reform legislation that would let foreign companies operate there for the first time since 1938.

U.S. businesses are poised to benefit, as the state-owned Mexican oil giant Pemex advocated for the monopoly-busting measure as a means to tap onshore shale plays and deepwater deposits in the Gulf of Mexico.

The amount of investment in the Mexican side of the Gulf could be "a factor of 10" greater than what's been spent on the U.S. portion, said Ken Medlock, an energy fellow at Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.

But for deepwater drilling — the Gulf can reach depths of 10,000 feet — only the major oil firms have the resources to compete. That means giants such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell could be some of the bigger benefactors.

"That opportunity exists for those groups, for those companies that already exist offshore. It's a limited group of companies that are large and that know how to do that that will take advantage of it, but it's a great opportunity for those companies," said Luis Gomar, a partner with Dallas law firm Strasburger and Price LLP.

Deepwater drilling has evaded the Mexican portion of the Gulf, meaning the entire infrastructure — floating drilling rigs, wells and all the parts in between — must be installed. That creates space for cradle-to-grave services and construction for U.S. companies — and they're already looking to dive in.

"Although we do not expect a material impact next year, the recent reform discussions signal a strong opportunity in Mexico shale and deepwater markets," Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar said in the company's third-quarter earnings call.

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