Mexico's energy regulator sets maximum terms for pending hydrocarbon permits
- Maximum terms range from up to 2 years to 30 years
- Applies to applications filed under the abrogated Hydrocarbons Law
- Court rulings ordered the commission to issue the rules
Photo: Wikimedia Commons - AmmodramusWhat changed The commission said it must set maximum terms differentiated by activity, rather than a single time limit for all regulated activities; the terms range from up to two years for marketing to up to 30 years for pipeline transport.
MEXICO CITY, Oct 14 — Mexico's National Energy Commission published rules in the Official Gazette (DOF) that set maximum terms for hydrocarbon permits by activity, for applications filed under the abrogated Hydrocarbons Law that were not resolved before the new Hydrocarbons Sector Law took effect.
For natural gas, pipeline transport, storage and pipeline distribution permits may run up to 30 years. Liquefaction, regasification, compression, retail sale and non-pipeline transport permits may run up to 20 years, according to the provisions.
Petroleum product permits for non-pipeline transport and for sale for own consumption may run up to 15 years. Marketing permits for natural gas, petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas may run up to two years.
In setting each term, the commission must weigh the level of investment and the project's useful life, the type of infrastructure, the applicant's record of regulatory compliance, the market and region, the estimated period for the investment to pay back, and the risk of the activity. It must explain its reasons in each resolution, according to the rules.
The commission said specialized administrative collegiate tribunals and district courts in Mexico City had ordered it to issue the rules. The orders came in rulings on lawsuits against permits for activities such as marketing petroleum products that had been granted for two years or less.
The rules do not cover permit extensions or applications filed under the Hydrocarbons Sector Law. Permits already granted keep their terms.
The rules take effect on the business day after publication. Director General Juan Carlos Solís Ávila signed them on Sept. 29, 2026, the day the commission's technical committee approved them.
Article 11 of the abrogated regulation allowed permits of up to 30 years, under rules that the now-defunct Energy Regulatory Commission was to issue.