Mexico's National Hydrocarbons Commission interprets certain provisions of the Guidelines for the Exploration and Development Plans for Hydrocarbon Extraction

On July 28th, 2020, the National Hydrocarbons Commission published its interpretation of certain provisions of the Guidelines for the Exploration and Development Plans for Hydrocarbon Extraction (Guidelines) in the Federal Official Gazette (Interpretation). The purpose of the Commission is to provide certainty and to clarify scenarios under the provisions set forth in articles 41, 50, 62, 76, 85 and 97 that apply to operators.

The Interpretation’s purpose is to guide the operators through the circumstances or scenarios in which an amendment of a relevant plan or program shall be required to comply with the mentioned Guidelines. The scenarios explored in the Interpretation are:

1. The variation of the wells drilled during the course of one year exceeding the number of wells indicated in the Guidelines
2. The increase or decrease of 20 percent or more of the execution of the investment approved through the relevant exploration plan, evaluation program or pilot program
3. The increase or decrease of 15 percent or more of the execution of the investment approved through the relevant development plan
4. The variation of 30 percent or more in the volume of hydrocarbons produced in a year considering the forecast of hydrocarbons volume for such year