(Pemex, 22.Jul.2015) – Pemex and the Ministry of Agrarian, Land and Urban Development (SEDATU), through the Agrarian Attorney’s Office (PA), signed a Cooperation Agreement to establish mechanisms for information, advice and training so that the hydrocarbon exploration, extraction and transportation projects are carried out according to the legal framework and in full compliance with the rights of agricultural subjects.
The agreement emphasizes counseling and conciliation tasks that the Agrarian Attorney’s Office will carry out pursuant to the powers and authority conferred to it by the Hydrocarbons Law and, in its capacity as agrarian ombudsman, to safeguard the rural assets in the contracts and agreements to be entered into by the community land owners and Pemex.
The Agreement also determines that the Agrarian Attorney’s Office, together with the members of Pemex’s Work Operating Committee, will have the actions and mechanisms available for settling, preferably by conciliation, any dispute derived from the relationship developed by the agrarian subjects with Pemex.
The event was led by the Head of the Agrarian Attorney’s Office, Cruz López Aguilar, and the Corporate Director of Administration and Services of Pemex, Víctor Díaz Solís, who emphasized the importance of the Agreement, stating that, although it has been crystallized after 11 years of procedures, this is the most opportune moment to promote investment and economic development of communities and communal lands orejidos.
The Attorney’s Office will provide information on the legal status of land ownership in order to prevent possible conflicts with the agrarian communities in the development of hydrocarbon-related projects and works. Pemex may request the intervention of the Agrarian Attorney’s Office to support conciliation and other alternative means of settling possible disputes.
López Aguilar said that the Agrarian Attorney’s Office has promoted, throughout this administration, different actions of training and professionalization for the officials who make up its territorial structure, as well as through specific courses at the National School for Agricultural Development Studies (ENEDA), in order to meet the challenges derived from the Energy Reform.
Meanwhile, Díaz Solís said that this Agreement takes place at the right time, as Pemex is changing at a rapid pace and developing new business lines, such as those of ethylene, fertilizers and power cogeneration, among others, therefore, it will be crucial to have the support of the Agrarian Attorney’s Office, he stated.
***