ABSTRACT
In Mexico, petroleum and economic development are inseparable. In the wake of the nationalization, oil companies terminated equipment sales to Pemex, boycotted its petroleum products and lobbied against US loans for Mexican petroleum development. Awareness that Mexico might once again become a major petroleum exporter reignited US interest in Mexican production for oil and to a lesser extent, natural gas. As” Jonathan P. Stern has noted, recognition of the importance of natural gas to the industrialization and modernization of the Mexican economy lagged behind interest in oil owing to the paucity of data on natural gas reserves and the fact that Mexico lumps oil and gas together owing to the large volume of associated gas in the country. In an effort to diversify the industrial base, the Mexican government has increased the allocation of the agricultural and traditional sectors of the Mexican economy.
