Mexico's government approved a bill on Thursday that will allow private oil companies to drill for oil, ending the government's 75-year monopoly on the country's oil reserves, Bloomberg reported.
Oil giants like Exxon and Chevron will not be able to extract oil and natural gas on their own or in agreement with the state-run oil company, Pamex, The New York Times reported.
Pamex, officially known as Petroleos Mexicanos, has been on the decline. Proponents of the bill say Pamex does not have the money or resources necessary to access Mexico's under-water and shale reserves, the Associated Press reported.
"It's an extraordinary moment," Tony Garza, former President George W. Bush's ambassador to Mexico, told Bloomberg. "There's potential to attract additional investment into shale and ultra-deep waters so that those resources can be exploited in a way that's ultimately good for the country,"
But opponents believe that oil companies will only take advantage and profit off of Mexico's natural resources. Pamex has been a source of money, national strength and pride since the government took control of Mexico's oil in 1938.
"We must defend our oil," three-time presidential candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas said in a commerical, according to the Times. "(Pamex) is a business belonging to all Mexicans and we must not allow it go private."
There's even a song, "The Oil Worker Hymn," that praises oil for saving Mexico, the Times reported.
Oil companies have lobbied the Mexican government for years asking for permission to drill, the Times reported. A lack of competition has caused Mexican oil production to fall behind other sectors, Bloomberg reported. The competition from other oil companies will give a needed boost for the Mexican economy.
"They know Mexico; they have been waiting for a long time for a true opportunity," Jeremy M. Martin, director of the energy program at the Institute for the Americas, told the Times.
