Oil industry in Mexico on track to improve

President Peña Nieto's reforms to the oil industry, meant to encourage partnerships between foreign companies and Mexican oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), have already begun to bear fruit. Improvements to the oil exploration, extraction and delivery systems of Mexico are expected to have positive effects on the U.S. and Mexico alike, as well as on downstream industries like manufacturing. Lower-cost energy may encourage more companies to consider expanding to Mexico with the promise of reduced manufacturing costs. Cross-border partnerships between the U.S. and Mexico on this matter are likely to benefit both countries; according to Nearshore Americas, more than 6 million jobs in the U.S. depend on U.S.-Mexico trade already.

According to Business Wire, U.S. company Fluor Company, through its subsidiary ICA Fluor, will be partnering with Mexican company Empresas ICA to work on reconfiguring the Miguel Hidalgo Refinery. Located in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, the refinery will be renovated in order to produce high-value distillates by reprocessing other products. Pemex will make a large investment in this project, which is set to benefit the country and all of the businesses that operate there.