GRACIELA ÁLVAREZ HOTH
NRGI Broker has worked on Mexico's energy reform and its new insurance regulation, making it a fount of knowledge for investors interested in Mexico's oil and gas sector.
BIOGRAPHY
With more than 30 years of experience in the energy sector, Graciela Álvarez Hoth continues to innovate and work for Mexico. As General Director of NRGI Broker, she is a leading broker specializing in oil, gas, and infrastructure, and is an expert in risk management. She is also founder of the Voices of Energy initiative, where she brings together businesspeople and authorities, enriching the dialogue with a single goal: the oil industry's development.
What inspired you to create NRGI Broker?
NRGI is a specialized insurance broker in the energy sector, and we are active in managing risks. I have 30 years of experience in the sector. We started working in Ciudad del Carmen, because 70% of Pemex's budget was spent there. We have worked during five six-year administrations with Pemex, and I have been navigating risks with them for 30 years. We participated in the energy reform by the invitation of the then-Secretary of Energy, because the administration needed to understand the risks involved in oil and which guarantees they were going to add to the contracts signed in the transition toward a more open oil market, which currently has over 130 contracts. That is when I built a relationship with the federal government. We worked on the insurance regulation currently managed by the Agency for Safety, Energy, and the Environment (ASEA) and created during the energy reform to provide guarantees and manage risks ranging from deep water exploration to local gas stations.
What are the main challenges your clients face in terms of risk management?
Nowadays, we have two types of clients: clients who come from abroad and huge corporations that have already developed risk management plans; however, where it gets interesting is local contractors. Pemex has the third-largest insurance policy in the world because it covered the activities of its contractors as well. Mexico has little historical past concerning risk management, because companies are not used to having insurance for their activities. With this new government administration, the current insurance only covers Pemex's direct activities; any third party has to be responsible for its own operations. Hence, companies are obliged to know why it is necessary to have insurance, as they are required to. Any mistake could cost the owners their company.
What does Mexico need to increase oil production?
It needs to pay its suppliers. If President Andrés Manuel López Obrador manages to stabilize this situation, things can improve. Shallow waters have always been a specialty of Pemex, so what they are doing now is making contracts to drill. This way, you give work to Mexican companies in an already-matured industry. Not only is it a great opportunity, but it is also a way to make companies more efficient, because you only get paid if you actually produce oil. There are many opportunities to grow our oil fields by techniques such as fracking, which is a forbidden topic right now, but there is quite a bit of evidence that shows fracking is not detrimental. In general, there are more things to explore and drill.
Can you tell us about the technology being used to make the industry more efficient?
It is not discussed publicly, on account of smaller operators competing with Pemex using technology for their operations. Actually, there is not a lot of competition in the industry; it is more “complementary" work, because it is a small sector in which everybody knows each other.
What are your growth plans both nationally and internationally?
I have a license to operate in Mexico, and there is much to do locally. Internationally, what we do is work with foreign companies to make their lives easier. We are not only good at what we do, but we also understand regulations, barriers, and opportunities. As a result, we can be their facilitators in the country. We help our clients understand the regulations in the country, and we also match their business with objectives within the industry. We started an initiative called Voices of Energy, which was inspired by our work done to clarify the confusion around the new energy reform. Voices of Energy is a communication space where I invite officials, private companies, and legislators to meet and present a topic. This initiative is a side project, but it gives us many benefits. Through it, we can understand different perspectives on the issues the industry faces.
GRACIELA ÁLVAREZ HOTH
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Focus
Inclusive development
Home to more than 22 million people, Mexico City is one of the most important cultural, financial, and educational centers in the world. While the lack of a coordinated approach to urban development has hurt the city's potential in the past, the current government is fully determined to promote inclusive growth and capture all the gains associated with urbanization.
read articleInterview
Alexis Langagne, North Latam Managing Director, Prosegur Security
With a cybersecurity firm, a guarding services firm, an electronic security systems company, and a video security company under its umbrella, Prosegur Security is the only company to offer a 360-degree security solution in Mexico.
read articleInterview
Rafael Fernando Marín Mollinedo , General Director, Public Decentralized Office of the Interoceanic Multimodal Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
With the development plan of Isthmus of Tehuantepec in hand, Mexico will bring about greater economic development in the country's often-overlooked south.
read articleForum
Engineering
Each one of the three companies featured in this forum are known for disrupting the construction industry in their own unique ways. While Grupo Beck is a pioneer of the integrated delivery process in Mexico, Bovis is among the first companies to build high-rise buildings in the country. Sacyr Concesiones, on the other hand, uses infrastructure development as a means to promote equality.
read articleInterview
Fabrizio Feliciani, Regional Director, UNOPS
As the UN's special projects services unit, UNOPS' main goal is to support public institutions that are undertaking important infrastructure projects to contribute significantly to advancing a country or region's development agenda.
read articleInterview
Alejandro R. Paolini, Managing Director of Mexico, Central America & Caribbean, Siemens Healthineer
Siemens Healthineers' aim is to support the growth and development of Mexico's healthcare sector and help the government with innovative technologies, especially those that help treat chronic diseases.
read articleInterview
Yon de Luisa Plazas, President, Mexican Football Federation (FEMEXFUT)
Mexico's Liga MX is among the world's top-10 football leagues, and FEMEXFUT plans to push it into the top three by improving four key pillars, namely sporting success, sports justice, international relations, and social responsibility.
read article
