Case Study: Mexican Ministry of Economy balances foreign investment and national development with PA Consulting

Balancing the need for foreign investment in the oil industry with the need to develop the country’s own economy

The Mexican Ministry of Economy worked with PA Consulting to balance two competing priorities: attracting foreign investment into Mexico’s oil industry while also building the country’s own economic and industrial capacity. The challenge was to determine realistic national content targets for deepwater and ultra-deepwater energy projects, especially for goods and services, without discouraging outside investment.

PA Consulting analyzed Pemex’s 2014 spending as a baseline and compared Mexico with leading deepwater markets in Brazil, Nigeria, Norway and the US to identify barriers and successful policy approaches. PA Consulting then built and validated a mathematical model to estimate how different policies would affect national capacity over time. As a result, the Ministry gained a clear methodology and decision-making tool to set national content targets and evaluate how quickly various policies could strengthen Mexico’s energy industry.

Mexican Ministry of Economy

Hector Marquez Solis

Head of The Energy Unit