Watching Government: Mexico’s new kid in town

Mexico’s commercial crude oil production began in 1901. The government agency that Luis R. Vera Morales began to lead soon after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was inaugurated this past December has existed for about 4 years.

Vera did not seem intimidated by challenges the National Agency for Safety, Energy, and Environment (ASEA) faces when he gave the final keynote address at a conference on Mexico’s energy outlook under the new administration at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on Mar. 5.

“I’ve spent the last 30 years working in the private sector, so when I was invited to join the government, I agreed because it would give me an opportunity to show what we have been doing,” Vera said.

“We’re nearly unique in regulating so much of the hydrocarbons chain from production to distribution and retail,” Vera explained. “We’re talking about 45,000 members of the regulated community already. Another 15,000 are joining us this year as gasoline stations.”

ASEA’s energy sector responsibilities are occupational safety and environmental regulation, Vera noted. “We’re only 4 years old, but we are self-sufficient in that we don’t cost the government money,” he said. “Actually, we have a fantastic surplus of about 98 million pesos. We’re excited about putting it into environmental programs that have to do with the hydrocarbons industry.”

The agency is trying to promote a safety culture for the hydrocarbons industry, Vera continued. “We do it through risk-based management. If we go to an inspection and see something we think is dangerous, we can close it down. This is a very precious instrument,” he said.

“We use administration systems that comply with Mexican law and follow international practices. This could change the way environmental regulation works in Mexico,” Vera maintained.

“Companies have to comply with the law. But we’d rather see money go to improving operations and correcting problems than paying fines,” he added. “Right now, we’re trying to find where ASEA fits in the 5-year national development plan. We expect to be more prominent.”

Trying to reduce delays

ASEA focused on industrial safety in its first 4 years, Vera said. “We’re trying to put an environmental view in every single one of our actions,” he told his Wilson Center audience.

“In the next month, we expect to meet our goal of reducing delays. In November, the past administration had 3,000 applications. We’re trying to be more efficient,” he said.

“My instruction from the president was comply with the law. All of the younger people in our agency are happy about where we’re going by enforcing the law, even when it involved a pet project of the president,” Vera said.