Carlos Slim’s Grupo Carso has secured a US$1.99 billion contract with state-owned Pemex to drill 32 wells at the Ixachi field in Veracruz, marking a significant expansion of private capital in Mexico’s oil and gas sector.
The deal, reported by The Rio Times, underscores a strategic pivot as Pemex increasingly relies on external partners to maintain production amid constrained internal resources.
The agreement comes at a critical juncture for Mexico’s energy landscape.
Exploratory drilling by Pemex has fallen to its lowest level in nearly three decades, according to data cited in recent reports.
This sharp contraction in early 2026 has raised concerns about the state giant’s ability to sustain output without private intervention.
Grupo Carso’s entry provides a tangible counterweight to this trend, injecting both capital and operational capacity into a sector facing structural headwinds.