The National Hydrocarbons Commission, the hydrocarbons market regulator, already has a new president .
Agustín Díaz Lastra has been appointed as the new head of the Commission after the resignation of Rogelio Hernández Cázares a few weeks ago.
The appointment would have been made directly by the president , sources told Expansión . The presidential communication office was consulted, but did not offer comment.
The Senate, which has the task of voting on this designation, did not carry out the procedure within the 30 days established by the regulation, which left the presidency free to make the decision.
Just at the end of last September, Díaz Lastra’s candidacy was endorsed by the Senate commissions, the shortlist was only made up of him, who has worked at the state-owned Pemex, and José Sánchez Pérez, after the senators annulled a third candidate who did not attend the hearing.
The plenary session of the regulator did not have a sufficient quorum to exercise its functions since the beginning of last September, after the departure of its then head for reasons that were not explained.
The president accelerated the appointment of the new head of the regulator in comparison with other autonomous entities that still continue without a president, such as the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) .
Díaz Lastra, according to the profile sent by the presidency, is an economist with little experience in the oil sector. Until recently, he served as deputy secretary of the Pemex Board of Directors. But before that, he did not serve in other industry bodies .
According to the records of the Civil Service, the experience of the current head of the CNH would be related to government positions in the State of Tabasco.
