Foreign payments fight could jeopardize US-Mexico drilling pact
Posted on August 19, 2013 at 1:20 pm by Jennifer A. Dlouhy
The oil industry is jeopardizing efforts to unlock nearly 1.5 million acres of Gulf of Mexico waters for drilling by aggressively opposing a federal mandate to disclose foreign payments, according to a former State Department official.
At issue is legislation that would implement a one-year-old agreement between the United States and Mexico that sets the framework for oil and gas development along the two countries’ maritime boundary. Although Mexico ratified the deal in April 2012, the U.S. Congress hasn’t cleared it — despite oil companies’ zeal to develop the so-called “western gap” region and bipartisan support for the pact.
