Mexico’s state oil firm Pemex says it has ensured its financial liquidity for at least another 18 months with the reopening of two long-term bond placements (one maturing in 10 years, the other in 30) to raise $5bn, according to Reuters.

The company, a major offshore player in the Gulf of Mexico, will use some of the funds raised to repurchase debt that expires in the next two years.

Pemex long held a monopoly position in Mexico’s domestic oil industry but that stranglehold has been loosened since a 2013 government decision to reform the energy sector by inviting in private and foreign companies to participate in exploration and production.

The aim is to improve overall productivity in the hydrocarbons sector and some recent big finds indicate the policy could be rewarded.

One three-party shallow-water discovery at the Zama-1 well in the Sureste Basin is estimated to hold between 1bn and 2bn boe. Pemex is not involved in that project.