Mexico City/ Rio de Janeiro — Two Latin American countries who need large investments to boost drained state coffers are locked in escalating competition to attract Big Oil’s interest in deep-water oil reserves. Mexico and Brazil each want a slice from a shrinking pie as international drillers limit their investments during a time of depressed oil prices. Exploration spending by major explorers in 2015 dropped by half from a year earlier to $7bn, according to a Wood Mackenzie report in September that predicted industry spending would continue to be curtailed through the end of the decade. To compete, Brazil this month scrapped a rule calling for its state-controlled driller to be the operator in all its fields, controlling at least a 30% stake. The following week, Mexico said it would let operators bid individually in the first deep-water joint venture with state-controlled Petroleos Mexicanos, rather than in groups of two or more. In both cases, the initial rules were seen as limit...
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