FILE PHOTO: Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy Dan Brouillette attends a meeting of the"Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas" in Vina del Mar, Chile, September 7, 2017 REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido/File Photo
MERIDA, Mexico - Mexico’s new government has indicated it does not wish to roll back an energy overhaul passed by the previous administration which opened up oil production and exploration to private capital, a senior U.S. government official said on Friday. Speaking on the sidelines of meetings between Mexican and U.S. officials in the eastern city of Merida, U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said Mexico’s Energy Minister Rocio Nahle had said her government did not wish to repeal the reform.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had been a staunch critic of the energy overhaul prior to winning election in July 2018. However, he has since said he will give private companies some time to show they can increase oil production.