Mexico City, Mexico — The Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), Mexico’s electricity and oil market regulator, has canceled 139 private company permits, some of which had been issued to large companies such as Shell and Iberdrola.
The canceled permits are related to the commercialization of petroleum products and other hydrocarbons. The Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE) voted the decision in its plenary session on April 29, and on May 14, made it official in a publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF).
The permits are related to the commercialization of petroleum products – such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and fuel oil – and of petroleum, natural gas and other derivatives. Shell and Iberdrola’s canceled authorizations are related to the commercialization of natural gas.
In the DOF notice, the CRE explained that the cancellation occurred after a review of the activities of the permit holders, in which it concluded that they did not carry out activities related to the permits obtained last year for a consecutive period of 365 calendar days.
“As a result of which it can be inferred that the permit holders identified in this recital are inactive and did not carry out acts tending to preserve their rights,” the CRE added to the DOF.
The federal administration has said that during the past six years, a large number of authorized permits have not been used. The regulator has slowed down the issuance of new permits, both in the electricity and oil markets, but this is the first time that it has announced a massive cancellation of authorizations granted during the previous six-year presidential term.
