MEXICO CITY, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Oil companies competing inthe next phase of Mexico's historic Round One auction will knowthe minimum level of profits demanded by the government prior tothe auction, the sector regulator said on Tuesday, in a bid toraise investor interest.
The oil regulator, known by its Spanish-language acronymCNH, also said it will offer companies the possibility toconduct additional exploration and extraction beyond reservesthat have already been discovered.
The changes are aimed at avoiding a repeat of the firstphase of the auction, in which the government missed its ownmodest expectations, awarding just two of 14 contracts offered.
During that auction, Mexico's finance ministry only revealedthe minimum level of profits companies would have to pay thegovernment after firms presented their bids.
The next round will be awarded on September 30, and involvesfive production-sharing contracts covering nine shallow wateroil fields along the southern edge of the Gulf of Mexico.
The regulator already said in August that it would lower thecorporate guarantee - money a consortium has to put up in caseof an accident- for the second phase.
Twenty companies have pre-qualified for the late Septemberauction, either as individual operators or in consortia,including international oil majors Chevron and RoyalDutch Shell.
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's Carso Oil and Gas is alsoamong the firms that have pre-qualified to bid, partnering upwith two winners from last months auction; Talos Energy andSierra Oil and Gas.
Mexico's oil regulator is running the five-phase Round Oneauction, which aims to lure billions of dollars in investmentand reverse a decade-long dip in crude output.
The oil auctions are among the first concrete stepsfollowing a sweeping energy overhaul finalized last year thatended the decades-long monopoly enjoyed by national oil companyPemex. (Reporting by David Alire Garcia and Christine Murray; Editingby Michael Perry)
