On June 10, 2016, as part of the resolutions taken in its Extraordinary Session No. 908, the Board of Directors of Petróleos Mexicanos issued the new "Guidelines for alternative dispute resolution applicable for Petróleos Mexicanos and its Productive Subsidiaries" (the "Settlement Guidelines"). These Guidelines are mandatory for Pemex and its Productive Subsidiaries (e.g. Pemex-Exploración y Producción) (hereinafter, "Pemex").

The purpose of the Settlement Guidelines is to determine the procedures, departments involved, content and the legal, technical and budgetary requirements, in order for Pemex to be able to settle with private parties as alternative dispute resolution mechanism. 

The Guidelines establish that the settlement procedure may be initiated prior to the formal commencement of any trial or process or during any of the procedural stages prior to the stage of enforcement of the relevant judgement, resolution or arbitral award.

In terms of the Guidelines, the public officials ascribed to the Legal Department that are in charge of the attention and legal defense of Pemex, have the mandate to carry out the necessary actions aimed at preventing the beginning of any dispute or trial against Pemex, or to procure the resolution of the same. 

The Guidelines establish (a) the different scenarios in which a settlement with private parties is doable with Pemex, including for example, if the counterparty's rights are so notorious and evident, according to the evidence at hand, as well as (b) the hypotheses in which a settlement is prohibited. 

We believe these Guidelines will be very helpful to guide the efforts of our clients in case there is a controversy with our national oil company, which nowadays is more relevant in the context of payments claims and other contractual disputes.  

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.