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Proposed lease stipulations would prioritize workforce training, domestic supply chain development, fishery protection, and community engagement WASHINGTON —  In another step by the Biden-Harris administration to grow America’s clean energy economy, the Department of the Interior today is proposing the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. The announcement is part of the Administration’s latest actions to expand offshore wind opportunities to more regions of the country, building on investments in the President’s Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to spur offshore wind deployment and create good-paying jobs for American workers. “America’s clean energy transition is happening right here and now. At the Department, we are taking action to jumpstart our offshore wind industry and harness American innovation to deliver reliable, affordable power to homes and businesses,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “There is no time to waste in making bold investments to address the climate crisis, and building a strong domestic offshore wind industry is [...]

NEW ORLEANS — In response to the President’s call to advance offshore wind development and accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, the Department of the Interior today announced next steps to bring the opportunity of offshore wind energy to the Gulf of Mexico. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) works under its renewable energy competitive leasing process to identify the offshore locations that appear most suitable for development, taking into consideration potential impacts to resources and ocean users. BOEM is seeking public input on the identification of two potential wind energy areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). “President Biden has called on us to address the climate crisis and Interior is taking that challenge to heart. The promise of renewable energy is undeniable, as is the momentum for a clean energy transition,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “Today’s announcement in the Gulf of Mexico is one of [...]

Mexico and the United States will work together to lure companies to North America from Asia, the Economy Ministry (SE) said Friday. After a meeting between Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, the SE said that those two officials will collaborate to put together a “joint presentation” to the private sector “to disseminate the opportunities and economic and fiscal benefits that both countries offer for the relocation of companies.” The presentation will be put forward in the first two months of 2023, the ministry said in a statement. Buenrostro said last month that over 400 North American companies already “have the intention to carry out a relocation process from Asia to Mexico.” The ongoing United States-China trade war, proximity to the U.S., USMCA free trade pact-associated benefits and affordable labor costs are among the reasons why many companies are looking to shift operations to Mexico. The SE said Buenrostro and Raimondo discussed a [...]

Grupo México — a conglomerate owned by Mexico’s second richest person — is in advanced talks about a potential purchase of Citibanamex, Bloomberg News reported Monday. Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg said that mining magnate Germán Larrea is attempting to finalize a deal to buy Citigroup’s Mexican retail bank, commonly known as Banamex. The unnamed sources said that no final agreements have been reached and noted that the talks could fall apart. They also said another buyer could emerge. The only other known potential buyer is Banca Mifel, a Mexican bank. Bloomberg reported last week that a group of investors led by Mifel and backed by private equity firm Apollo Global Management were in talks with banks for about US $2 billion of financing for their bid to buy Banamex. The Bloomberg sources said that Citgroup could also offload Banamex via an IPO, or initial public offering. Citigroup, a U.S.-owned corporation, announced in January it would [...]

An Irish plastics company and a United States medical technology company opened new plants in northern Mexico this week. Ireland’s Mergon Group announced that it had opened phase 1 of a 15 million euro (US $15.8 million) investment near Saltillo, Coahuila, while Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) inaugurated a US $38.6 million manufacturing facility in Tijuana, Baja California. Mergon, which makes plastic components for companies such as BMW, Rivian and Xerox, said in a statement Thursday that it expects to create 150 new jobs in the first year of operations at its new facility in Ramos Arzipe, a municipality that borders Saltillo to the north. “Over the last decade Mergon has become a key design and manufacturing partner for light weight air management systems and clear vision systems to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers in the US. These companies are forecasting strong growth over the coming years and Mergon is helping them achieve their vision,” the [...]

The federal government has proposed additional talks with its United States and Canadian counterparts to resolve differences over Mexico’s nationalistic energy policies as it strives to avoid an escalation of the dispute. In July, both the U.S. and Canada requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico, arguing that the Mexican government is violating the USMCA trade pact with policies that favor state-owned energy companies over private and foreign ones, including many that generate renewable energy. No resolution was reached in an initial 75-day period of consultations, allowing the U.S. and Canada to request a dispute panel to settle the case, but the three countries agreed to continue talks past the Oct. 3 deadline. As part of that process, Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro met with United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. According to an Economy Ministry (SE) statement, Buenrostro proposed establishing “trinational working groups” that would meet in December and early January to “deal with the [...]

U.S. company New Fortress Energy (NFE), said on Tuesday that it had finalized agreements with the state-owned oil company Pemex to resume gas extraction work in the country’s Lakach offshore natural gas field. Located 93 km southeast of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico, Lakach is a deep water gas field owned by Pemex, and its first deep water development project. It is believed to hold up to 937 billion cubic feet of gas reserves. In a statement, the U.S. company said it will develop and operate the project, committing to complete seven offshore wells over a two-year period. According to Pemex, production is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024. Early in November, the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) approved the plan to develop the abandoned project, which was first authorized in November 2007 with an initial investment of US $1.4 billion. However, due to cost pressures, it was put on hold for [...]

The proposed lithium refinery plant is planned to start commercial production by the end of 2024. US-based automotive company Tesla is assessing the feasibility of building a battery-grade lithium hydroxide refining facility on the Gulf Coast of Texas, to support its production of electric-vehicle (EV) batteries. In a letter to the Texas Comptroller’s Office, the carmaker said it is looking to build the facility, which the firm touted as the first of its kind in North America, to process raw ore material into a usable state for battery production, reported Reuters. Lithium hydroxide, a key component used in EV batteries, is expected to be then shipped to various Tesla battery manufacturing factories through trucks and rail. Tesla’s plans to invest in the new Texas-based refining facility is said to be contingent on the ability to secure relief on local property taxes. The proposed facility is planned to be located at a site with access to the Gulf Coast [...]

In Chile’s Salar de Atacama, locals watch helplessly as their ancestral lands wither and die, their precious water resources evaporating in briny salars. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, hope for a better life dissolves as well-funded Ugandan-led extremist groups force children as young as 6 to work in cobalt mines. Closer to home, Nevada’s Fort McDermitt Tribe and local ranchers fight to protect a sacred burial site and agricultural lands set to be sacrificed by Lithium Nevada, a mining company, in the coming days. Meanwhile, in California and other states, politicians such as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) pat themselves on the back for their “aggressive” environmental stance and boast that their gas-powered vehicle bans are leading “the revolution towards our zero-emission transportation future.” The Hidden Costs According to politicians like Newsom and President Joe Biden, electric vehicles (EV) are “zero-emission” because they use lithium-ion batteries—consisting of lithium, cobalt, graphite, and other materials—instead of gas. Thus, starting in 2035, California will ban gas-powered vehicle sales, while [...]

European investors are adding to their portfolios in various sectors of the Mexican economy, including industry and real estate In early August, the French company Vinci Airports announced it will become the leading shareholder of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte (OMA) by agreeing to purchase 29.99% of the Nuevo León–based company that runs 13 airports in Mexico, including one of its busiest, Monterrey International Airport. A few weeks later, the Netherlands-based firm IMCD, a leading distributor of specialty chemicals and advanced materials, announced it had signed an agreement to buy 100% of the Mexico-based plastics firm PromaPlast. “European companies see in Mexico an opportunity for investment in various sectors,” an article in Expansión magazine analyzing those moves and others declared this week. According to data from the Bank of Mexico (Banxico), investment in Mexico by European countries represented some 17.5% of the total foreign investment at the end of 2021, an amount close to US $4.82 [...]