Mexico’s CNE Sets Permit Rule Terms for Pending Hydrocarbons Applications
Mexico’s energy regulator, the National Energy Commission (CNE), on Wednesday issued rules to determine the validity period of permits for hydrocarbons and petrochemicals, effective Thursday.
The rules apply exclusively to applications submitted under the previous legal framework that remained unresolved when the new Hydrocarbons Sector Law took effect.
The former law was replaced by the Hydrocarbons Sector Law in March 2025, followed by its implementing in October 2025, CNE said.
In a notice published in the country’s federal gazette DOF, CNE said the new rules establish criteria for setting permit durations based on factors including investment, project lifespan, infrastructure and operational risks.
“The reasonable validity period of a permit is directly related to the level of investment, the type of associated infrastructure and the investment payback period required to develop the regulated activity,” CNE said.
Under the new rules, permits for storage and pipeline transportation will be valid for up to 30 years, retail sales permits can last up to 20 years, permits for fuel self-consumption facilities and other modes of transportation different from pipelines, up to 15 years, and fuel marketer permits up to two years.
Previously granted permits will retain their original validity periods.
The rules establish maximum permit validity periods consistent with existing sector-specific regulations and set terms for resolving pending permit applications for LPG and natural gas pending applications.
The regulator added that activities requiring the construction, installation or operation of long-term fixed infrastructure warrant longer permit terms to allow for reasonable investment recovery, unlike activities that do not require investment in infrastructure or fixed assets.
Explaining how the new rules would apply to retail pending applications for which no term had been established, those requests will be subject to a 20-year validity period, Emmanuel López, director of Selfgas, a Tijuana-based self-service platform for service stations, told OPIS.
“Gas station operators should therefore ensure that their business plans are properly structured, because that is what will help them justify a longer permit term,” López said.
“It is not so much about how many years you are granted, but how you, as a business owner, can justify that period,” he added.
Reporting by José Luis Adriano, jadriano@opisnet.com; Editing by Karla Omaña, komana@opisnet.com and Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com