Only nine of 25 global energy firms and consortiums who qualified for Mexico's first oil auction made offers on Wednesday, officials said, as big oil companies shunned the sale.

Norway's Statoil, Italy's ENI and India's ONGC Videsh Ltd were among the few that made proposals for 14 shallow-water fields in the Gulf of Mexico, but US giant ExxonMobil and Anglo-Australian firm BHP Billiton stayed out, according to the National Hydrocarbon Commission.