By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington — With the signing of an agreement to develop oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States and Mexico will now be able to cooperate on how to share common energy resources.

Speaking in Los Cabos, Mexico, February 20, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the transboundary resources agreement signed earlier in the day removes uncertainty both countries had about the Gulf reservoirs and “will make exploration and production safer, more efficient, more equitable for companies in both countries.”

The agreement will also help the United States and Mexico “advance energy security in our hemisphere and help us handle our energy resources more responsibly,” she said.

Clinton added that American energy firms will be able to collaborate for the first time with their Mexican counterpart, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), which is “a welcome benefit for both Mexico and the United States in these challenging economic times.”

Signing the agreement were Clinton and her counterpart, Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa. They were joined by Mexican President Felipe Calderón and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

According to a February 20 press release from the Interior Department, the new agreement means that more than 600,000 hectares of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf has been made more accessible for exploration and production activities. The area is estimated to contain as much as 172 million barrels of oil and 8.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

“This agreement makes available promising areas in the resource-rich Gulf of Mexico and establishes a clear process by which both governments can provide the necessary oversight to ensure exploration and development activities are conducted safely,” Salazar said in the press release.

Thanks to the agreement’s guidelines on developing the oil and gas reservoirs that cross the U.S.-Mexico maritime boundary, U.S. companies and Pemex can either voluntarily sign agreements to jointly develop the resources, or use a process established by the agreement that allows each side to develop the resources on its side of border while protecting each nation’s interests and resources.

The press release also said that under the agreement, the governments will set up joint inspection teams to ensure compliance with laws and regulations.

“Relevant agencies on both sides of the boundary will review all plans for the development of transboundary reservoirs, and additional requirements may be set before development activities are allowed to begin,” according to the release.