A finance team has begun to ask Wall Street banks for final rates on put options that will lock in oil prices for 2018 via the New York investment community's largest annual oil deal.

The government then has the option to sell oil at the price determined in the contract, or the higher rate determined by market supply and demand.

The Mexican Finance Ministry declined to comment on the inquiries, which began late last week, sources said. The agency predicted an average oil price for local crude of $42 for 2017 and $46 for 2018. The January 2017 price for Mayan crude for the U.S. was $45.75 a barrel.

For 2017, the country's hedging scheme has guaranteed an average barrel price of $38, though in the first five months of this year, Mexican oil sold for $44 a unit. PEMEX's separate hedging program becomes useful when prices drop below $42 a barrel. The Mexican government made a record $6.4 billion off of its hedge in 2015, the first year of the oil price crash.