An Outcome-Based Approach to Navigate the 2026 Offshore Era

Q: Offshore activity in Mexico has contracted somewhat, what has been Blue Marine’s  adaptation strategy in this context, and what has been your primary approach to remaining competitive in this environment?

A: In the Oil & Gas business, ups and downs are normal and something we are use to. The contraction you mention is largely driven by a slowdown in exploration activity. Mexico is coming out of two decades of extraordinary investment, first Cantarell then Ku-Maloob-Zaap, which generated an enormous wave of offshore work. That level of activity was exceptional, not a baseline. That said, meaningful offshore activity continues. In Blue Marine we remain closely engaged with both PEMEX marine regions — the Southwest and the Northeast — as well as with private clients who maintain offshore operations. We are in this sectort for the long run and understand the cycles. Deepwater activity is now underway with Woodside's Trion project. So while the market has normalized, it has not disappeared.

What has changed most significantly for us is our commercial model. In the years when work was abundant, the industry operated on a fairly straightforward day-rate basis. Contractors provided their assets, invoiced their rates, and the question of how much value was actually being delivered to the client was secondary. That was a comfortable position for everybody… perhaps too comfortable.

That dynamic has shifted considerably. In Blue Marine we now invest in understanding what our clients are actually trying to accomplish, and what outcomes they need from our assets and services. We work closely with them to align incentives so that our work genuinely contributes to their results, and we are willing to share in the risk if we do not deliver. Contracts have evolved in that direction as well. The market has become more demanding, but in many ways we firmly believe that it is a healthy development.

Q: Blue Marine is well known for its Mexican identity and roots. How does that local experience help you respond to the international operators still active in the market?

A: Blue Marine is a Mexican company with thirty years in the sector and yes: a national identity we cherish and are proud of. But we have also built meaningful international experience and reputation through projects outside of Mexico with foreign clients. That combination has been valuable, particularly in sharpening our ability to deliver with precision when opportunities arise domestically.

One of the most consequential decisions we made, roughly six or seven years ago, was to define our scope of work and formally separate our business lines. We had been operating across offshore construction and maintenance on one side, and well intervention and stimulation on the other. Both were offshore, but the similarities largely ended there. The expertise required was different, the personnel profiles were different, the client contacts were different, and the equipment was different.

So we restructured into three distinct companies under the Blue Marine umbrella. The first is BME Oil and Gas, focused on well intervention, production optimization, and stimulation. We have invested heavily in purpose-built assets for this business — including three FPSOs currently in operation — designed with the benefit of years of operational experience. The second is BME Subtec, which focuses on marine infrastructure: new construction as well as inspection, repair, and maintenance of existing assets. This is our most active business line, with over 2,000 employees, significant investment in both equipment and human capital, long-term project contracts, and fabrication yards. We have evolved from a company that outsourced most of its activities to one that executes virtually all of them directly. The third entity is BME Shipping, our shipping company, which owns, maintains, and operates the vessels — chartering them to the other two companies or directly to third parties. It is the foundation on which everything else rests. If the assets are not properly maintained, the entire operation suffers.

Beyond Blue Marine itself, all three companies sit within our holding company, Grupo Industrial Durandco, where we are pursuing a broader diversification into other industries, including a steel manufacturing plant and other ventures outside the traditional maritime and energy space.

Q: What industries and projects is the group pursuing through this diversification, and what would your competitive differentiator be in those new markets?

A: We began investing in renewable energy some years ago, in partnership with a Norwegian fund. We participate at the board level rather than in day-to-day operations, but it is a meaningful portfolio commitment. On the industrial side, we are crystallizing an investment in a steel rebar manufacturing plant. We have made significant advances, as technology has been selected and memoranda of understanding have been signed, and we are working with several governments to determine the final location. It is a project that is very much in motion.

We are also re-entering hydrocarbon trading. We originally established a trading arm following the energy reform, but as the premises of that reform were progressively reversed under subsequent administrations, the business case became less of a priority. We are now actively reviving that line of business.

Finally, we are carefully evaluating the new contract structures that our clients are beginning to offer, including mixed contracts and third-party financed schemes. These represent a fundamentally different model from what we have traditionally operated under, but they are genuinely attractive, and we are actively working on proposals.

Q: What opportunities do you see ahead for Blue Marine and for the group?

A: For Blue Marine, a central priority is progressively bringing more technology in-house. We have been fortunate to have had strong partners and alliances over the years. SLB, for example, with whom we have worked in consortium for more than fifteen years, has been an exceptional source of learning. A previous long-term alliance with another major partner shaped much of BM Subtec's technical foundation. A shipping alliance, also now concluded, left a lasting imprint on our capabilities. Each of these relationships — whether structured as consortia, joint ventures, or project-by-project arrangements — has contributed meaningfully to training our people and expanding what we are capable of delivering.

The goal going forward is for Blue Marine to continue raising its technical standards and to make increasingly strategic asset investments. Having vessels is common in Mexico; what we focus on is acquiring the right vessels, assets that deliver genuine added value to clients.

The group-level diversification is not a signal of retreat from what Blue Marine does. Quite the opposite, we will continue investing in both assets and people within the maritime and energy business. One thing we have done well in the past five years is attracting exceptionally capable individuals to the group: technically strong, commercially sophisticated professionals who have meaningfully expanded our service offering. People remain our first investment priority, followed by assets.

We remain genuinely enthusiastic about the oil, gas, and energy sectors. Beyond investment in human capital and physical assets, technology represents the most significant opportunity for our industry, and one we have not yet fully addressed. In certain segments, we are still executing projects largely the same way we did many years ago.

That is something we are determined to change. In the near term, we will be directing focused investment toward technologies that deliver concrete, measurable value to our clients — improvements that translate into clear, quantifiable performance outcomes, not just incremental gains. That is where we see the greatest untapped potential, and where we intend to concentrate our efforts going forward.

Blue Marine is a leading Mexican maritime and subsea services company that has become a fundamental pillar for the country's offshore energy operations.