The National Energy Commission initiates the expiration of 132 fuel permits

The National Energy Commission initiated an administrative expiration procedure against the holders of 132 permits for the marketing of hydrocarbons, petroleum products, and petrochemicals, presuming that they did not exercise the rights conferred in their titles for 365 consecutive calendar days. The agreement was approved by the organization’s Technical Committee during its Nineteenth Ordinary Session on October 13, 2026, through Agreement CT/19.SO/35-2026, and was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in the Ministry of Energy section, pages 27 to 36.

The act is based on Article 88, fraction I, subsection b, of the Hydrocarbons Sector Law, in relation to Article 87, fraction III, of the same regulation and Article 330 of the Regulations of the Hydrocarbons Sector Law. According to this framework, the permit title expires when the permit holder does not exercise the conferred rights for a consecutive period of 365 calendar days, subject to a guaranteed hearing. The document signed by the general director, Juan Carlos Solís Ávila, on October 13, 2026, cites criteria from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation according to which expiration does not seek to inhibit or punish a behavior, but is rather a consequence of inactivity or lack of interest in exercising a right.

The review that triggered the procedure

The Hydrocarbons Unit of the National Energy Commission conducted a review of electronic and physical files on September 1, 2026, based on Article 32, fractions XV and XXXVI, of the Internal Regulations of the National Energy Commission. From this exercise, evidence was identified in 132 files associated with marketing titles, in which no purchase and sale activities of hydrocarbons, petroleum products, and petrochemicals were recorded during the period from September 1, 2025, to August 31, 2026, without any evidence, notice, or record accrediting the activity.

The agreement specifies that the procedure must be handled independently for each permit title, and that the evidence must be analyzed and evaluated during the processing, before deciding whether the expiration hypothesis is met or not.

The designated permit holders

The list brings together 132 corporate entities and natural persons, with folios from the H/, G/, and LP/ series and segments COM/GN, COM/PETRO, and COM/CEE, corresponding to natural gas, petroleum products other than liquefied petroleum gas, and petrochemicals. Among the mentioned cases are:

• Combustibles Licuados y Equipos, S.A., permit H/22682/COM/2019, granted on September 30, 2019.
• Dimas Garfías López, permit H/23181/COM/2020, dated January 30, 2020.
• Julia Mendoza Cruz, permit H/20530/COM/2017, dated October 27, 2017.
• Chevron Combustibles de México, S. de R.L. de C.V., permit H/19855/COM/2017, dated January 19, 2017.
• Altos Hornos de México, S.A.B. de C.V., permit H/10378/COM/2015, dated December 10, 2015.
• Vista Oil & Gas Holding II, S.A. de C.V., permit G/22083/COM/CEE/2019, dated January 30, 2019.

The affected titles cover grants ranging from 2015 to 2022, including natural gas marketing permits such as those of G500 Network, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (H/20796/COM/2018) and Gas Total, S.A. de C.V. (H/19986/COM/2017), as well as petroleum and petrochemical permits such as those of Operadora Bloque 12, S.A. de C.V. (G/24169/COM/CEE/2022) and Pantera Exploración y Producción 2.2, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (G/21464/COM/CEE/2018).

Deadlines and means of defense

The SECOND Agreement grants 15 business days, pursuant to Article 51 of the Federal Law of Administrative Procedure, counted from the business day following the publication and notification of the start of the procedure, to present statements and evidence. Subsequently, it grants five business days to formulate arguments, under the terms of Article 56 of the same regulation; once both deadlines have expired without appearance, the right shall be considered forfeited and the agency will resolve based on the elements of the file.

• Statements, evidence, and arguments may be submitted through the Electronic Filing Office of the National Energy Commission.
• Also in physical form at Avenida Insurgentes number 20, Glorieta de Insurgentes, colonia Roma Norte, C.P. 06700, alcaldía Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City.

From the Energy Regulatory Commission to the new commission

The agreement recalls that on March 18, 2025, the Law of the National Energy Commission and the Hydrocarbons Sector Law were published, derived from the constitutional reform on organic simplification disseminated on December 20, 2024, which extinguished the Energy Regulatory Commission and created the new decentralized body sectorized to the Ministry of Energy. The permits issued by the extinct commission continue to take effect until the end of their validity, but the new entity may monitor their compliance and, if applicable, terminate them prematurely. The document also invokes Agreement A/014/2018, published on April 9, 2018, which requires petroleum marketers to submit information reports, and Article 76, second paragraph, of the law, which requires weekly delivery of volumetric control and commercial operation data.

The resolution that may be issued could extinguish up to 132 marketing permits, with a direct effect on the indicated companies and on the fuel supply structure in the regions where those permits operated.

Source: Official Gazette of the Federation, edition of Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Section I (Ministry of Energy), pp. 27-36 (official reference: Agreement CT/19.SO/35-2026).