By Laurence Iliff / Wall Street Journal

Mexico’s oil regulator on Tuesday modified terms for a September auction of oil fields after a poor outcome at last month’s tender of 14 offshore blocks.

One change allows a company to bid individually for one group of fields and in consortium for a different group of fields, which was prohibited previously. A company can’t bid both alone and as a group for the same fields.

The commission also adjusted the financial guarantees that must be posted by winning bidders. Rather than having a set rate of $6 billion in equity as a financial guarantee for the contract, a winning bidder can alternatively provide a guarantee equaling 18 times the government-set minimum investment for work on the fields.

That change would allow a firm or consortium holding a small number of fields to post less than the $6 billion in equity required, and is designed to attract smaller firms to the auction. The commission also added a requirement that bid winners take out at least $1 billion in insurance against oil spills or other accidents.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-modifies-terms-for-september-oil-auction-1438712100