On 2 March 2018, the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) published in the Federal Official Gazette, international public bid number CNH-R03-L03/2018 (the Bid), directed to domestic or international legal entities to award license agreements for hydrocarbons exploration and extraction in non-conventional onshore blocks.
In this type of fields, the oil and gas is trapped within low permeability rocks called shale rocks, which makes horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing necessary.
The Bid is comprised by 9 contract areas located in the Burgos Basin in Tamaulipas with prospective resources 3 times higher than the volume of the onshore blocks already awarded in different bid rounds. This because Mexico ranks 6th worldwide in the volume of non-conventional resources, according to the statements made by the Ministry of Energy, Pedro Joaquín Coldwell during the presentation of the Bid call.
The Bid Guidelines contain the technical, financial and experience requirements that the interested companies shall comply with, as well as the schedule of events and the respective license agreement form.
Below are the most relevant dates of this Bid:
| No. | Date | Activity |
| 1. | March 5, 2018 to June 12, 2018 | Period to request and pay for Data Room access |
| 2. | March 5, 2018 to September 4, 2018 | Data Room access |
| 3. | March 2, 2018 to June 7, 2018 | First stage of clarifications |
| 4. | March 2, 2018 to July 31, 2018 | Second stage of clarifications |
| 5. | March 2, 2018 to August 3, 2018 | Third stage of clarifications |
| 6. | June 14, 2018 | Deadline for the payment of registration fees and request pre-qualification appointment |
| 7. | June 19 - 22, 2018 | Submission of pre-qualification documents |
| 8. | August 3, 2018 | Publication of the list of pre-qualified companies |
| 9. | August 8 - 9, 2018 | Period to request the CNH the authorization of bidders conformation |
| 10. | September 5, 2018 | Submission and opening of proposals and announcement of winning bidders |
The Bid guidelines and other information may be found in the following link.
Our Firm will be glad to answer any inquiry or provide any service regarding this matter.
