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Days before the Sept. 5 deadline to begin the bidding process to join Petroleos Mexicanos's first oil production joint venture since ending more than seven decades of state monopoly, Chevron, BP and Total were the only big oil producers among the five companies that had enrolled as of Thursday, according to data on the oil regulator's website. Exxon Mobil was added to the list Friday, while Royal Dutch Shell and Anadarko Petroleum, which have paid for access to the field's seismic data, still aren't among pre-qualified bidders.

Being the state oil company in a country where the industry is still mostly a government affair comes with many benefits, but that's exactly what may be scaring away investors. The joint operating agreement, or JOA, drafted by the Mexican government may expose Pemex's partners to excessive environmental risks in a challenging area of the Gulf, while Pemex retains a large role in the decision-making, analysts said. That might explain the tepid demand.

The JOA is much more conflict-ridden than it is cooperation-prone,†John Padilla, managing director of energy consulting firm IPD Latin America, said in a phone interview. Companies also have expressed concerns with the minimum $464 million they'll have to put in to cover their share in investments Pemex has already made, and that the agreement will be governed by Mexican law, which lacks clarity in regards to joint venture regulation, he said.

Extreme depth

The winning bidders will partner with Pemex to develop the Trion field, located 25 miles from shore on the Mexican side of the Perdido belt that straddles the maritime border with the U.S. The field is estimated to contain as much as 485 million barrels of oil equivalent in waters as deep as 8,200 feet, according to Pemex.

Shell, which operates fields on the U.S. side of the area, describes its Perdido oil and gas production and drilling platform as the deepest in the world, coping with challenges such as extreme water depth, rugged sea-floor terrain and low-temperature, low-pressure reservoirs in a new geological frontier, according to its website.

Mexico estimates its side of the Perdido belt may contain as many as 10 billion barrels of potential crude reserves. Seventy-six percent of the country's prospective resources are located in the deep waters of the Gulf, according the energy ministry.

Sovereign immunity

The JOA for Trion ...