Mexico's government has issued new rules limiting the duration of fuel market permits and eliminating renewals, tightening oversight of the energy sector.
The regulation, published on 3 October as part of the secondary legislation under the new hydrocarbons law, reduces the maximum term for new retail fuel station permits to 20 years from 30 years. Permit renewals are no longer allowed. Instead, permit holders must submit a new application and meet all requirements to obtain a new permit.
The changes apply across the fuel value chain, including marketing, distribution, retail, transport and storage. Each activity now has a specific maximum term. Storage and distribution permits retain the 30-year cap, while commercialization permits are limited to two years, and import and export permits are capped at five years.
Under the previous law, the energy regulatory commission (CRE) — the regulator now replaced by the national energy commission (CNE) — could issue new retail fuel station permits for up to 30 years. Most were granted for that duration. But since 2023, the CRE began issuing shorter-term permits, citing alignment with land lease contracts. Renewals were also limited to half the original term, according to Mexico's fuel station suppliers' association Ampes.
Under the new regulation, the CNE is still in charge of permit reviews and oversight of most of the fuels value chain in Mexico, but the energy ministry remains in charge of import and export permits.
The government's rationale for shortening permit terms and removing renewals is likely to accelerate the transition to the new regulatory framework, said Javier Govea, an energy lawyer at GBM Abogados. "The new regulator and energy ministry have only just begun to make decisions in the sector, so it is too early to judge these limits as a negative," he said.
Government efforts to ease fuel permitting and shorten timelines to issue the permits are positive signs for the market, Govea said.
The administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum, continuing the energy policy of her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has prioritized strengthening state control over the energy sector. The government has also pledged to crack down on the illicit fuel market, which at its peak supplied around 30pc of Mexico's 1.2mn b/d gasoline and diesel demand. Market participants say tighter oversight will be key to addressing this issue.
A draft version of the regulation had proposed reducing the maximum term for new retail fuel station permits to just 10 years, a move that Ampes warned could have deterred investment and limited returns. The final version extended the term to 20 years, still shorter than the previous 30-year standard.
