Villahermosa is the capital city of the State of Tabasco (Mexico), which is located in the southernmost part of the Gulf of Mexico and has a population of half a million inhabitants.

The combination of an excellent quality of life and a dynamic oil and gas (O&G) activity taking place in its region, makes Villahermosa the hub for O&G operations in the South of Mexico and the “Energy City of Mexico”

This is mainly due to the excellent quality of life that offers through its infrastructure and services such as an international airport, five stars hotels, entertainment facilities, outstanding health services, twenty-one higher education and technical institutions. All these surrounded by a splendid tropical ecosystem that comprises colourful vegetation and interior lagoons.

Villahermosa is the axis of Mexico’s oil and gas activities. Nearly the totality of oil and more than 90 percent of natural gas is produced within a 200 km radius of the city. Similarly, due its strategic location and accessibility, Villahermosa is an easy drive to or from the seaports that handle 95 percent of Mexico’s crude oil exports.

Taking advantage of its geographical location, Tabasco reinforces its leadership in the southeast of Mexico, as the most efficient regional platform for logistics, distribution, commerce and services. In Tabasco, activities related to the oil industry represent 61 percent of the PIB  of the State. Of the 9 tenders assigned by the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH), Tabasco was awarded 35 contracts for activities on land, offshore, deep water or farmout projects. This represents USD 42 trillion in investment and 420 thousand new jobs for the next 30 years.

With the future construction of the Dos Bocas Refinery in Paraíso, the Mayan Train and it´s potential in renewable energies, Tabasco is projected as the most important state in the country for the oil industry.

One of the most relevant attributes of the state of Tabasco is that it is covered by water, and the capital, Villahermosa, is no exception. Nearly a third of Mexico’s interior water runs through Tabasco and produces an important share of electric power.

Some of the O&G companies with premises in Villahermosa are: Pemex Exploration and Production (South Region, Drilling Unit, Engineering of Strategic Projects); Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP), Schlumberger, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Core Lab, Great Wall Drilling Co., Petrotec, Precision Drilling, CGG, among others.

Clearly, O&G exploration and production activities have been the mainstay of Villahermosa economy. This condition is being reinforced by the important set of exploration and production projects that are being developed both, offshore and onshore, in Southeast Mexico. The triplication of Pemex Exploration and Production (PEP) investment budget in Tabasco (from 2001 to 2002) illustrates this point.

Business opportunities can be found in areas such as perforation and production equipment, petrochemical operations, software development, geophysical services, heavy industry equipment maintenance, control and systems services plus treatment and recycling services for oil wells. Moreover, there are options related to the complementary services for the oil industry, such as: telecommunications, housing and waste and water treatment, among many others.

Villahermosa is trying to diversify its economy through: 1) fostering the participation of local companies in more profitable O&G value chain activities (links) such as technology and specialised services; and 2) developing industrial clusters through capacity building programmes, especially those that take advantage in a respectfully fashion of the region natural resources.

In brief, Villahermosa, “The Energy City of Mexico”, is committed to enhance the quality of life of the community through capturing and diversifying the economic benefits produced by the energy of both: its people and natural resources.