U.S., Mexico reach agreement on Gulf of Mexico oil exploration

The United States and Mexico agreed today to work together when drilling for oil and gas below their maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mexico’s foreign minister signed the deal at a ceremony in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos as Mexican President Felipe Calderon and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar looked on. The U.S. Interior Department says the agreement makes nearly 1.5 million acres of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf more accessible for exploration and production activities. The area could contain 172 million barrels of oil and 304 billion cubic feet of natural gas. “This is an area larger than the state of Delaware,” Salazar says. The cooperation stems from an understanding that President Barack Obama and Calderon reached in 2010 to share in the profits and work together to avoid spills. Clinton says the deal will “ensure safe, efficient, responsible exploration of the oil and gas reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico.” The agreement will also prevent maritime boundary disputes and create new business opportunities for each country, Clinton says. Calderon says the deal should erase any fear among Mexicans that oil belonging to them will be taken by Americans. Under the agreement, U.S. companies will now be allowed to partner with Mexico’s national oil company in drilling. But neither country is constrained by the other. If the two governments can’t agree on how to exploit a reservoir, either can take its share unilaterally.