London: BP's oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico will prompt oil-producing nations to adopt international standards amid "an increased concern about the planet," Mexico's environment minister said.
Global standards "must be a very important topic when nations issue permits for oil production," Mexican Environment Minister Juan Elvira Quesada said in an interview in Mexico City.
"It's very important that we exchange and harmonise the safety standards."
BP's spill, caused by an April 20 explosion that killed 11 crew members, is about 482 kilometres off Mexico's Yucatan coast.
The leak is similar to one in 1979 by state-oil producer Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, which took nine months to plug its Ixtoc 1 well following an explosion and fire.
BP's repair attempts "the first 48 days after this leak had been a disaster, with no significant fix," Elvira said. "However, even in the worst-case scenario we don't expect the oil spill to reach the Caribbean coast."
Mexico is increasing its supervision of Pemex's offshore platforms after the explosion at BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
The environment ministry has so far certified 85 of the 185 offshore facilities operated by the Mexican state-owned company.
BP is facing more than 150 lawsuits related to the spill.
Most are proposed class-action suits representing potentially thousands of claims against the London-based company, owner of the offshore lease where the damaged well is located, and Transocean, which owned the oil rig.
US President Barack Obama declared a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling last month as a presidential panel probes the explosion.
BP shares have fallen 44 per cent since the incident started in April, wiping about £50 billion (Dh267 billion) off the company's market value.
- 482km distance of oil spill off Mexico's Yucatan coast
- 11 crew members who died in the explosion
