A company controlled by Mexico’s richest man, Carlos Slim, will invest $1.2 billion in the development of a natural gas field in the Gulf of Mexico. The field should begin producing in 2026, Bloomberg reported. Grupo Carso, the Slim-controlled company, would partner with state oil major Pemex on the Lakach gas project, with Pemex keeping ownership of the field and its reserves, while Grupo Carso builds the infrastructure necessary to process the gas extracted from the field.
Grup Carso’s owner Carlos Slim has been expanding his presence in oil and gas lately and has said that now is a good time for Mexico to boost activity in that sector to take advantage of growing tensions between the United States and China and draw in more investment its way. Last month, the Mexican National Hydrocarbons Commission reported that the nation's total proven hydrocarbon reserves, encompassing both crude oil and natural gas, had increased to 8.