Based on the collaborative  work of a high-­‐level  group of Mexican  energy experts during the first half of 2012,  this  report  focuses  on  the  issues  facing  Mexico’s  hydrocarbons  sector  and  the  most  important principles  that  must  underlie  the  forthcoming  reform  of  the  country’s  oil  and  gas  industry.  Although multiple diagnoses of the sector exist, in recent years there has been no fundamental examination of the principles that should underlie the nation’s energy policy.

Between   February   and   July   of  2012,   a  diverse   group   of  academics,   analysts   and   energy   industry representatives  met  under  the auspices  of a program  sponsored  by the Woodrow  Wilson  International Center for Scholars and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México to discuss the future of the Mexican hydrocarbons  sector  and to examine  the fundamental  energy  requirements  of the Mexican  economy,  as well as the role of the National Oil Company, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and other possible actors in the sector. Rather than engage in an exhaustive but repetitive diagnosis of the multiple challenges of the oil and gas sector in Mexico, the group was determined to go beyond these failings and to propose a set of guiding principles  for  a  national  energy  policy,  principles  that  will  guide  Mexico’s  political  elites  towards  a successful and sustainable hydrocarbons future that will guarantee energy security and contribute to the development of the national economy.