Further enhancing U. S.-Mexico offshore safety coordination should be a priority for the Obama administration. An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is not contained by international boundaries, and the U.S. coast is particularly at risk given circulation patterns. Mexico is poorly prepared to enforce offshore safety, which would be of particular concern for U.S. coastal communities if large scale oil operations are developed in areas of Mexico close to the maritime border (as have been recent deep water discoveries). Comision Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH), a Mexican safety regulator created in 2008, has only 60 employees and, at the time of authors' visit, had not received scheduled budget increases from the Finance Ministry. Most troublingly, CNH has not conducted a single offshore platform inspection. As a senior official stated, ``We are running safety risks because of under investment in this agency [CNH].'' Mexico's CNH and the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement should enhance cooperation, including U.S. technical and logistical support for CNH-led inspections of Mexican offshore facilities, with reciprocal visits to U.S. facilities. Reciprocal visits will be particularly beneficial to build relationships between CNH and IOCs. The TBA offers one avenue to pursue such an arrangement, but this could directly be accomplished on an accelerated timeline given eagerness of CNH leadership.
