ABSTRACT
The judging by the participation in domestic gross product, the generation of revenues and employment and the multiple direct and indirect impact of its activities, the oil industry in Mexico represents the most important sector of the Mexican economy. A fully vertically integrated state-owned enterprise, Petroleos Mexicanos, covers from the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons to production of basic petrochemicals, including domestic and foreign commercialization of all its products. Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo (IMP) was established in the mid-1960s to stimulate and develop scientific and technological activities related to the exploitation of the country's hydrocarbon energy resources. In 1970, the technical, academic-level staff of the same IMP division concentrated mainly on widely-known abroad geological and geophysical technologies. In 1973, the activities of the IMP's Subdireccion de Tecnología de Explotacion were divided into four areas: oil deposits, drilling, evaluation of formations and corrosion.
