Grupo Carso Finalizes TotalEnergies’ 30% Acquisition

Grupo Carso reached a binding agreement with TotalEnergies on July 16 to acquire its 30% non-operated stake in Block 30, a shallow-water block in the Cuenca Salina del Istmo, through Zamajal subsidiary Mx Delta NRG 1. Harbour Energy retains 70% and continues as operator. The block's headline asset is the KAN discovery made in 2023, estimated at 200–300MMboe of light crude — one of the most significant finds under a production-sharing contract in Mexican waters in the past decade.

Ready for more? Here is the weekly roundup!

Carso Acquires TotalEnergies' 30% in Block 30, KAN Discovery

The transaction is the second upstream acquisition Carso has executed through Zamajal in 2026, following the expanded Zama stake, and confirms the conglomerate is building a structured minority portfolio of non-operated positions in shallow-water light crude plays alongside capable international operators. The pattern is the precise opposite of Lakach, which Slim called "irrational" in May: short-cycle, commercially proven geology, no operational responsibility, no PEMEX entanglement.

Freedom Fuel vs. PROFECO: How the US and Mexico Differ on Fuel Pricing

Facing the same Iran-conflict price shock, the US and Mexico have deployed structurally different retail fuel price interventions. The Trump administration has backed the Freedom Fuel Network — a 25-station chain in Pennsylvania and New Jersey incorporated 17 days before opening, selling regular gasoline at US$3.47/gallon, approximately US$0.41 below the national average — and claimed it operates without government subsidy. Industry analysts are skeptical: the wholesale rack price on July 3 was US$2.89/gallon, leaving a gross margin that does not cover credit card fees, labor, or lighting at the advertised price. By July 10, most locations were charging US$3.57. Mexico's approach is regulatory and transparent: PROFECO physically inspects stations, places visible "No Cargues Aquí" banners at those exceeding the MX$24/L gasoline and MX$28/L diesel caps, and maintains a public national price map — activating consumer market discipline rather than subsidized competition.

Sheinbaum Announces Petrobras Will Help Explore Deep Cantarell Formations

President Sheinbaum announced at her July 6 press conference that the PEMEX-Petrobras MoU signed in June will be used to evaluate whether untapped Jurassic-era formations exist below the already-exhausted Cretaceous strata at Cantarell, deploying Petrobras's subsalt seismic imaging technology. The project will develop in stages — specialized exploration first, drilling only if commercial potential is confirmed. Cantarell peaked above 3MMb/d in 2004; it currently produces approximately 112Mb/d. Independent analyst Gonzalo Monroy argues the Petrobras exploration hypothesis would yield better results in the Cuenca Salina, where Mexico's sub-salt geology most closely mirrors Brazil's pre-salt Santos and Campos Basins, rather than at Cantarell specifically — a distinction with direct implications for where the collaboration's most commercial results are likely to emerge. Operational plans are expected to begin toward the end of 2026.

PEMEX Cancels Four High-Value Mixed Contracts, Framework Under Renegotiation

PEMEX formally cancelled four mixed contracts — Nobilis-Maximiliano, Kayab-Pit-Utsil, Macuil-Paki, and Tlatitok-Sejkan — citing force majeure due to insufficient timelines to address concerns raised by participating companies. The four contracts represent more than 2,100MMb of 3P reserves, including 400MMb of proven 1P reserves between Kayab-Pit-Utsil and Macuil-Paki alone, and had attracted documented interest from Shell, Eni, BP, Woodside, and SLB. The pattern mirrors Lakach: international operators with capital and technical capacity engage the due diligence process and then decline to commit funds. The structural obstacles are well documented — absent direct agreement mechanisms for lenders, ambiguous PPA preservation rights, and permit reversion risk to PEMEX. PEMEX is now in active dialogue with private companies to adjust the mixed contract framework, with proposals including linking reserves to projects as collateral assets rather than PEMEX property. The cancellations directly undermine Sheinbaum's 1.8MMb/d production target by removing the two highest-volume fields from the near-term pipeline.

Trump Proposes 20% Hormuz Cargo Fee as Iran Conflict Reignites

President Trump announced on July 13 that the US would reinstate a naval blockade on Iran and seek reimbursement of 20% of cargo value from all vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz under US military protection, without disclosing how the charge would be calculated, collected, or enforced. The announcement followed renewed US-Iranian strikes over the weekend — Iran reported targeting US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, and announced closure of the strait on July 11. Only six vessels transited Hormuz on July 12, the lowest daily count in five weeks. Brent crude rose 3.14% to US$78.40/b on July 13. Iran's Revolutionary Guards stated that normal traffic could only resume once US military operations ended. The development collapses the June 17 Versailles MOU framework that had briefly allowed Iranian oil exports before the July 7 General License X revocation, and adds a new commercial uncertainty layer — potential toll-like fees on Hormuz transit — not previously part of the conflict's market calculus.

Venezuela Ends PDVSA's Monopoly in Most Sweeping Oil Reform Since 1976

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez signed Venezuela's Regulation of the Hydrocarbons Law on July 9, publishing the implementing rules for a January 2026 legislative reform that structurally ends PDVSA's monopoly over the country's petroleum sector. For the first time since nationalization in 1976, private national and foreign companies can conduct exploration, extraction, transportation, and initial storage entirely independently, without forming joint ventures with PDVSA, and can directly commercialize the oil produced. The 29-page regulation makes no mention of PDVSA and introduces differentiated taxation based on asset risk profile. In certain joint ventures, the private operator can assume operational management even when PDVSA retains majority shareholding. The reform coincides with SLB's June framework agreement with PDVSA, active US-Venezuela diplomatic engagement, and the Trump administration's pursuit of sanctions relief in exchange for commercial opening. For Mexico, the contrast with PEMEX's mixed contract struggles is direct: Venezuela has legally enabled a private participation framework that international operators can execute fully independently, while Mexico's model still requires PEMEX majority ownership and has produced four contract cancellations in the same week.