Mexico Puts Gulf Deepwater Oil Treaty with US into Effect

Mexico on Friday put into effect an agreement signed in 2012 with the United States to allow companies to exploit deep water oil resources in the Gulf of Mexico that straddle the countries' maritime boundaries.

The deal, published in the government's gazette, lifts a moratorium on oil and gas exploration and production along the countries' maritime border in the Gulf and sets up a framework for companies to jointly develop any trans-boundary reservoirs.

State-run energy company Pemex has lagged far behind the United States in developing deep water oil reserves, but an opening of the oil and gas industries to private investment is expected to spur more projects in the Mexican side of the Gulf.

Mexico's Congress is voting this week and next on a series of bills needed to implement the energy reform, which is the centerpiece of President Enrique Pena Nieto's economic reform agenda.

(Reporting by Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)