Sierra Oil Wins Round 1 Licences: Mexico’s Sierra Oil and Gas led the only consortium to win licences in the first phase of the country’s Round 1 hydrocarbons licensing auction, announced on 15 July. Sierra, in partnership with Talos Energy of the US and Premier Oil of the UK, was declared the winner of the shallow water Blocks 2 and 7 in the Gulf of Mexico. Under the bidding rules, companies were required to offer a share of profits to the government and a minimum level of investment in developing the blocks. Mexico’s regulator, Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH), said…

The Mexican government has been applying import duties on steel and steel products, as a world steel glut and surge in cheap imports, mainly from China, erodes the position of domestic producers. In line with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, and following an anti-dumping investigation, in June the government imposed tariffs on cold-rolled steel imports from various Chinese suppliers. Similar tariffs were imposed on hot-rolled steel imports from Germany, China, and France. In July, after another investigation, tariffs were applied on imports of certain types of carbon steel pipes from the US, Spain, and India. Also in July, the economy…