Research Library

This paper analyzes the possible impact of Mexico’s energy reform on the country’s environment, as well as the challenges to preserving natural resources and access to water while also supporting the expanding oil and gas sector.

As a result of the 2013 energy reform, oil and gas companies completing projects in Mexico must now meet mandatory requirements to utilize local goods and services suppliers. The authors analyze the legislative framework in place to enforce the local content requirement and the economic implications of the policy.

This paper explores the constitutional and legal standards regarding oversight systems related to accountability, transparency and responsibility within the scope of the energy reform in Mexico. It analyzes these regulatory structures and assesses whether the procedures satisfy the constitutional principles that the energy reform establishes for the petroleum sector. It also identifies challenges and opportunities for improvement presented by the legislation.

The development of the petroleum sector has been characterized by a succession of cycles of investment and expropriation that have been particularly pronounced in Latin America. This paper analyzes the causes of these cycles and the lessons that can be derived and applied during the implementation of the petroleum reform in Mexico.

Fellow Joe Barnes looks back, and ahead, at the impact of President Obama's foreign policies.

This compilation of briefs addresses a range of issues the new administration will face in the coming years.  “It is our hope that these Baker Institute studies will prove to be useful starting points for the new administration to develop comprehensive, forward-looking solutions," said Baker Institute Director Edward Djerejian.

This paper analyzes access to water in Mexico in the context of the country’s energy reform, including social conflicts that may arise from opposing environmental and energy priorities.

U.S. policy should facilitate and support investment in Latin America’s oil and gas sectors, which would contribute to energy security and support economic integration with Mexico and Latin America, writes fellow Francisco J. Monaldi.

The economic and geopolitical implications of the United States’ nonconventional hydrocarbons revolution on energy markets throughout North America, including Mexico, and the possibilities for policy coordination in the region are explored in this paper.

This paper critiques the Mexican government's efforts to train the country's workers for jobs created by energy reforms.