Mexico continues to make significant energy policy reforms. Some of its most important are taking place in its new National Agency for Safety, Energy, and Environment (ASEA). Much work has been done already, but significant challenges remain, according to ASEA Executive Director Carlos de Regules.
"We came up with some important definitions to provide what might be called our 'lighthouse' during our initial operations," he said during an Oct. 3 discussion at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "We thought having a defined mission was important. We wanted to make sure that people got home safely from work each day, and that environmental protection remained paramount."
ASEA is similar to its counterparts in other countries in some ways, and different in others. Its authority extends along Mexico's entire oil and gas value chain from wellhead through transportation to the gasoline pump and burner tip. Hydrocarbons are largely unregulated in the country's states and communities. Several federal nonenergy ministries have issued rules.
"When we started operations, we inherited 85,000 directives that we were able to bring down to a manageable 5,000," Regules said. "Many had nothing to do with corrective enforcement, but were standard operations. We changed that."
The agency's core values emphasize professionalism, accessible transparency, impartiality, and timely decisions, he said. "You can produce very interesting regulation and authorization processes, but if you don't do it in a timely matter, it's not worth much," Regules observed.
ASEA has had to take some distinctive approaches to developing its regulatory model. It began by discussing safety and environmental approaches used by the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and other countries' similar agencies. Then it decided to make its regulations goal-oriented instead of prescriptive, and adopt a risk management approach for regulators as well as operators.
It also worked with the companies it would be regulating. "We got together with each industry association to learn their best practices to produce relevant and pertinent regulations," Regules said.
'Right level of risk'
"We're trying to establish the right level of risk, and goal-oriented regulations allow the industry to apply its existing safety and environmental expertise," he said. "By the end of 2016, we expect to issue 33 new environmental and safety regulations across the entire value stream."
"One of the most refreshing aspects of Mexico's energy reforms is that people are so open to talking about these things," said the discussion's moderator, Duncan Wood, who directs the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute. "It's the result of some very hard work, and it's not like other parts of Mexico's government. They have said they still have a lot to learn, which also is refreshing."
