American Energy Partners enters partnership to tap Mexican oil, gas goldrush

American Energy Partners: Mexico’s shale fields hold more than 60 billion barrels of unconventional oil

Mexico’s energy reforms are attracting American oil and gas companies. The latest is American Energy Partners LP, which announced a partnership with Mexico’s EIM Capital led by former Mexican President Vincente Fox.

Aubrey K. McClendon is also the co-founder and retired CEO and chairman of Chesapeake Energy Corporation.

Mexico’s EIM Capital and an affiliate of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based American Energy Partners, LP today announced a new, long-term, landmark partnership to explore the vast exploration and development opportunities offered by Mexico’s abundant oil and gas energy resources.

Mexico currently holds some of the world’s largest unconventional oil and gas reserves – more than 60 billion barrels of shale resources, according to estimates by the US Energy Information Administration.

“This partnership will provide significant value to both companies and to the Mexican economy,” said Aubrey K. McClendon, CEO of Oklahoma-based American Energy Partners, an oil and gas asset management platform and operator with a management team that has drilled more than 15,000 horizontal shale wells throughout the USA.

“EIM’s knowledge of and investments in Mexican infrastructure coupled with AELP’s knowledge of and operation within the unconventional energy industry will produce unparalleled opportunities as this exciting project progresses.”

Former Mexican President Vincente Fox.

EIM Capital is a Mexico City-based private equity fund dedicated solely to new investment in the Mexican energy sector, including power, upstream, midstream and other energy-related infrastructure. The company is led by CEO Franco C. Hamdan and former Mexican President Vicente Fox.

“This is a major opportunity for Mexican energy production,” said Fox, who was president of Mexico from 2000, to 2006 under the National Action Party. “We look forward to working closely with the Mexican government to advance this monumental project and enhance Mexico’s current energy policy.”

American Energy Partners and EIM Capital announced Tuesday that they have entered into an agreement whereby, upon the completion of certain conditions, American Energy Partners will make a significant investment into EIM Capital to jointly pursue investments in Mexico’s energy industry and explore unconventional oil and gas development.

This is a significant vote of confidence in the Energy Reform program championed by current Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, the companies said in a joint press release.

“We are excited to partner with one of the world´s most experienced and efficient unconventional producers, who under the right operating environment could help unlock Mexico´s unconventional energy resources and spur an energy boom which would be transformational for the Mexican economy,”  said Franco C. Hamdan, CEO of EIM Capital.

“Mexico’s proximity to the U.S. market’s established infrastructure, service providers, and operators could help quickly scale the nascent Mexican shale industry and, with the right conditions, Mexico could rapidly emerge as a global leader in energy production.”