LAS CABOS, Mexico -- The United States and Mexico agreed Monday to work together when drilling for oil and gas below their maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mexico's foreign minister signed the deal at a ceremony in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos as Mexican President Felipe Calderon and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar looked on.

The cooperation stems from an understanding that President Barack Obama and Calderon reached in 2010 to share in the profits and work together to avoid spills.

Clinton said the deal would "ensure safe, efficient, responsible exploration of the oil and gas reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico."

"These reservoirs could hold considerable reserves that would benefit the United States and Mexico alike," she said.

But they don't necessarily stop neatly at our maritime boundary," Clinton added. "This could lead to disputes if a company discovers a reservoir that straddles the boundary – disputes, for example, over who should do the extraction and how much they should extract."

Clinton said the agreement will prevent such disputes and create new business[...]

[Published in GreenNews - Read the original article]