Eduardo Canales Quoted in Latin America Energy Advisor on New Pemex Chief

Eduardo Canales, an associate in the oil and gas practice at Akin Gump, has been quoted in the Latin America Energy Advisor Q&A feature “Will Pemex Soar or Sputter Under González Anaya?” regarding the appointment of José Antonio González Anaya as the new chief executive of Mexico’s state-run oil company.

Canales noted that González Anaya’s appointment comes at one of the most challenging times for Pemex. Two years after Mexico’s energy market went through major reforms, Pemex has had to deal with “the slump in global crude prices and ensuing financial volatility.” As a result, Canales said, the company has had to increasingly rely on net indebtedness to finance its capital expenditures.

Canales said the new status quo “demanded an economic and financial expert to lead Pemex through an efficiency- and utility-maximizing exercise to take full advantage of the new regulatory framework.” González Anaya, a Mexican economist educated at MIT and Harvard, he said, was the answer.

González Anaya’s “methodical approach to analyze and dissect economic inefficiencies and his effectiveness in implementing pragmatic solutions to a seemingly collapsing social security system,” Canales said, “were his strongest credentials to take over Pemex’s reins.” He added that the Mexican government’s “appointment of González looked past some of the flashier, albeit cyclical, headlines that dominate the energy markets today, and focused on addressing Pemex’s current microeconomic woes and pursuing Pemex’s long-term success.”