As the price of oil rises, an international rush is on for Mexico’s untapped deep-water riches. The who’s who of the oil world — led by Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc , the world’s two biggest drillers by market value — are lining up to bid in the country’s Jan. 31 deep-water auction. And the interest is international in scope, drawing Chevron Corp. from the U.S., the U.K.’s BP Plc, Norway’s Statoil ASA , France’s Total SA , Australia’s BHP Billiton Ltd , Russia’s Lukoil PJSC and China’s Cnooc Ltd , among others. The total: 25 registered to bid for 29 deep-water plots across the southern Gulf of Mexico, the nation’s regulator said Thursday. It shouldn’t be a surprise. The areas up for grabs are estimated to hold as much as 4.2 billion barrels of crude oil in untapped deep waters where 76 percent of Mexico’s […]