During her first term as Brazil's leader in 2008, she expressed interest in supporting Pemex in exploring new oil fields and investing in biofuels. Under Sheinbaum's administration, Pemex has sought new partners to reverse a prolonged decline in oil production, although few major companies have finalized agreements so far. On a smaller scale, Pemex has announced six oil contracts with local companies, and at least three other agreements are in the pipeline, according to company executives in a call last month. President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed interest in developing joint ventures between the state-owned oil company Pemex and Brazil's Petrobras, though she emphasized that she expects a concrete proposal that could cover deep-water oil fields and biofuels. Sheinbaum highlighted Petrobras's track record in ethanol production from sugarcane, as well as its oil exploration experience, suggesting Mexico could benefit from such an alliance. In her daily press conference, she said they need to continue expanding the exploration of new fields, and this could be an opportunity with Petrobras, days after Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, publicly mentioned a possible partnership that would include deep-water projects. “Lula proposed it to me in the call we had, he proposed an alliance with Pemex,” Sheinbaum said, adding that no decisions have been made yet. Petrobras will visit Mexico in April. The head of state noted that Petrobras's CEO, Magda Chambriard, will visit Mexico in April and meet with officials, including Pemex's director general, Víctor Rodríguez. While in the U.S. territorial waters of the Gulf of Mexico, about 2 million barrels are produced daily in deep-water fields, on the Mexican side, there is no commercial production in such projects yet. Andrés Manuel López Obrador suspended competitive oil auctions that had begun offering these fields a decade ago. A possible association with Petróleo Brasileiro SA, Petrobras's formal name, could also extend to biofuels from sugarcane and cactus maguey, according to Sheinbaum. “They have a very specialized laboratory for biomass production with maguey in Brazil. Sheinbaum's plan envisions that private partners will share profits in joint ventures that could eventually contribute up to 10% of Pemex's production. The projects proposed by the heavily indebted company include both onshore and offshore fields, while it also increases the use of hydraulic fracturing to boost natural gas production and reduce Mexico's historical dependence on U.S. supplies. “So we are interested in forming alliances with Mexican researchers who can work on the same topic and other topics,” she said. Lula's interest in associating Petrobras with Pemex. Lula has for years proposed that Petrobras associate with Petróleos Mexicanos.
