A judge granted the final suspension of the hydrocarbons law

Mexican Judge Granted Final Stay Against Several Articles Of Recently Approved Hydrocarbons Law (LH), with which the government wants to increase the presence of the state in the sector, a court document showed Monday.

Suspension “it must have general effects ”, according to the resolution, which means that it will favor all companies subject to the law.

The measure granted by the judge protects businessess contrary to the provisions of section 57 of the LH, which provides that the authority may temporarily occupy the facilities of license holders, intervene in the licenses or suspend them.

It also provides that the public productive enterprises, in this case the public company Pemex, can take over operations with suspended or intervened permits.

The judge’s measure also cancels two transitional laws and prevents the authority from revoking permits that do not meet the minimum storage required by the Ministry of Energy. or that violate any provision of the rule.

According to the document, the judge orders the Secretary of Energy, Rocío Nahle, to publish her decision within three days, otherwise she would be liable to a fine, as well as any officials who do not respect it, who could even be imprisoned. Sentences.

On May 5, the Official Journal of the Federation (DOF) Public the controversial oil reform the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, despite strong questions from the opposition, experts and companies in the sector for the the possibility that the authorities could be forced to suspend the licensing permits for reasons of national security, which was perceived as a possible “expropriation”.

The draft decree, approved by the two chambers of Congress in April and resulting from an initiative of the federal executive, seeks to “guarantee the sovereignty and energy security of Mexico, as well as to discourage various practices linked to the illicit trade in hydrocarbons and petroleum products “colloquially called” huachicoleo “.

In addition, intends to reorganize various economic activities in the energy sector, in order to fight corruption, guarantee supply, as well as the protection of the national economy and the revenues collected by the State.

For it, proposes to empower the energy secretary (Sener) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) to revoke permissions, when their holders commit the offense of smuggling hydrocarbons, petroleum products or petrochemicals.

He suggests that the Sener and the CRE may suspend permits issued to permit holders, when imminent danger to national security is anticipated, energy or for the national economy.

In the same way, provides legal certainty to the license holder, as it allows them to request the end of the suspension, when it shows that the causes which caused it have already been corrected and that no criminal or administrative offense has been created.

This part of López Obrador’s oil reform has sparked the most controversy in recent weeks. Agree with experts, the opposition and companies in the sector, it is a form of “expropriation” of the Mexican government, because it would allow the authorities to take control of their properties.

Another objective of the reform is to prevent consumers from receiving less fuel than they paid for, because it establishes the revocation of operating permits for concessionaires who repeat non-compliance with the provisions relating to the quantity, quality and measurement of hydrocarbons and petroleum products.

Submit that The same sanction will be applied to license holders who modify the technical conditions of systems, pipelines, installations or equipment., without the corresponding authorization. Too eliminates the possibility for the State to hire third parties with technical capacities, to ensure the management and control of occupied, intervened or suspended installations.

The DOF specifies the approved modifications to Articles 51, 53, 56 and 57 of the Hydrocarbons Law. Similarly, a section III is added to article 51, a section XII, moving the current section XII to section XIII, to article 56; Article 59 Bis, and a second paragraph of section II of article 86.

Modifications They update the legislation concerning the minimum storage of petroleum products, the refusal in the procedure of processing permits and the revocation of permits in the event of a repeat offense in violation of various applicable provisions.

In accordance with the transitional regime of the approved reform, the decree will come into force the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the Federation. Therefore, López Obrador’s oil reform will enter into force this Wednesday, May 5, 2021, although it was already announced at the time by the opposition that will be challenged in court.

With information from REUTERS

KEEP READING: