Mexico Allows Fuel Imports to Lure Investment, Cut Prices
Mexico, which ended a 76-year oil monopoly in 2014, is now speeding the liberalization of the fuel market as it seeks to lure investment and push down prices for consumers, Continue Reading
Foiled by Oil
“Pemex revenues are down 70% in the past 18 months. That is what Peak Oil looks like.” “Oil in the ground is wealth only on paper – you may own Continue Reading
Exclusive: Pemex sees Mexico’s Maya crude as low as $19/barrel by end-March
Mexican state oil company Pemex expects its top-selling Maya heavy crude oil to fall as low as $19 per barrel by the end of March, an internal document seen by Continue Reading
Mexican president replaces Pemex chief as calls to cut costs grow
Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto has replaced the chief executive at Pemex, the state oil company that is bleeding cash because of the oil price slump, with instructions that all Continue Reading
Pemex’s steady output declines continued in 2015
Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) reported liquid hydrocarbons production in 2015 of 2.59 million b/d, down 7% compared with the 2014 total and 10% compared with the 2013 total. Offshore production accounted Continue Reading
Texas Railroad Commission, Mexico Discuss Shale Development
Mexico’s Ministry of Energy (SENER) is seeking to learn how it can replicate the success of South Texas’ Eagle Ford shale. Representatives of Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH), Ministry of Continue Reading
Mexican Government Considers Capitalization of Pemex
The Mexican government is considering a capitalization of Petróleos Mexicanos to bolster its working capital, but requires that the state oil company come up with a plan to cut costs Continue Reading
Oil Price Slide Puts Pemex in Spotlight
The drop in Mexican crude oil prices this week to around $20 a barrel is likely to put pressure on an already tight budget of state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos, Continue Reading
Mexican Crowds Defy Authorities, Steal Diesel from Pipelines
Rebellious crowds of people in a rural area in central Mexico are defying police and soldiers by stealing diesel from illegally tapped pipelines, creating the potential for fires that have Continue Reading
Amid Weak Oil Prices, Pemex Touts Its Rock-Bottom Production Costs
With oil prices sinking to levels not seen in more than a decade, Mexican national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos said Tuesday that its production costs are among the lowest in Continue Reading
Pemex Growth Dreams Turn to Asset Sales, Job Cuts as Debt Mounts
Petroleos Mexicanos’s plans last year included joint ventures and higher oil production. For 2016, that’s turned into job cuts and asset sales as it tries to weather the worst downturn Continue Reading
Pemex to Announce Job Cuts With Oil Production at 25-Year Low
Petroleos Mexicanos hopes to start 2016 with a plan to become leaner and more efficient. The state-owned oil producer is set to announce job cuts for next year as part Continue Reading
Mexico’s Onshore Oil, Gas Bidding Round a Success
Mexico’s onshore oil and gas bidding round beat initial expectations as the nation’s government seeks to grow the diversity of players in Mexico’s oil and gas industry. Mexico’s onshore oil Continue Reading
Mexico Plans Deep-Water Oil Auction Next Year
On the heels on this week’s successful auction of 25 onshore blocks with modest oil and gas resources, Mexico’s Energy Ministry on Wednesday announced plans for a highly anticipated tender Continue Reading
Crude Price No Obstacle as Mexico Sells Every Oil Area Auctioned
The opening of Mexico’s oil industry is warming up after a slow start. Mexico awarded all of its 25 onshore fields auctioned Tuesday, defying the six-year low in crude prices Continue Reading
Mexico Auctions Onshore Oil Fields Amid Low Prices
After being forced to stand on the sidelines for eight decades due to state control of the oil industry, private Mexican oil and gas firms came roaring back Tuesday by Continue Reading
Strangled by low oil prices, Mexico slow on payments
Getting paid has always been hard for government contractors in Mexico, but seldom has the problem been so bad, as low oil prices are battering government finances. Analysts and officials Continue Reading
Pemex Expands to Houston as It Nears $100 Billion in Debt
The opening of Petroleos Mexicanos’s first-ever gasoline station in Houston featured several cultural reminders of the company’s origins. There were mariachis dressed in traditional Charro suits, trumpet-heavy Mexican music and, Continue Reading
Mexican crude oil shipments to Europe and Asia are rising as U.S. imports fall
In September 2015, monthly U.S. crude oil imports from Mexico totaled 0.6 million barrels per day (b/d), the lowest level since 1990, and a decrease of about 50% since January Continue Reading
Mexico rules out crude production cut in concert with OPEC: source
Mexico is not willing to cut its crude production as part of any coordinated action by OPEC and non-OPEC producers, a Mexican energy ministry source said Thursday. “The ministry has Continue Reading
Pemex Sees Total Debt Rising Above $100 Billion Next Year
Total debt at Petroleos Mexicanos may rise to more than $100 billion in 2016 as the state-run oil producer plans to issue more debt amid a slump oil prices and Continue Reading
Eni tapping into offshore Mexico
Italian energy company Eni said it was cleared by Mexican authorities to start development of three oil fields in territorial waters in the Gulf of Mexico. “Eni will now proceed Continue Reading
Pemex Rating Cut by Moody’s on Falling Output, Low Oil Prices
Petroleos Mexicanos lost its highest credit rating ever as Moody’s Investor Service downgraded the state oil producer one level, citing a deteriorating credit profile because of lower crude prices, high taxes and falling production. The cut leaves Mexico City-based Pemex at Baa1, the third lowest investment grade and one level below Mexico’s sovereign rating of A3. Moody’s outlook for the company is negative. The rating takes into account the Mexican government’s support for its national oil company, according to a statement announcing the downgrade. Tuesday’s downgrade follows Pemex’s worst-ever quarterly result on Oct. 28, when it announced a net loss of $10.2 billion. The company, which is headed for an 11th consecutive annual drop in production this year, said total debt surged to a record $87.3 billion. "Moody’s believes that Pemex’s credit metrics will deteriorate further in the short to medium term,” Nymia Almeida, a credit analyst at Moody’s, […]
Oil Deal of the Year: Mexico Set for $6 Billion Windfall
Mexico is set to get a record payout of at least $6 billion from its oil hedges this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Latin American country locks in oil sales as a shield against price declines through a series of financial deals with banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. For 2015, Mexico guaranteed sales at almost $30 a barrel higher than average prices over the past year. The 2015 payment, due next month, is set to surpass the record from 2009, when the Mexican government said it received $5.1 billion after prices plunged with the global financial crisis. The country’s crude has fallen by almost half over the hedging period so far this year. Crude sales historically cover about a third of the government budget. "The windfall is huge," said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd., […]
Mexico asks to join IEA
Mexico submits request to join the International Energy Agency, saying doing so would advance energy security interests. Photo by tcly/Shutterstock PARIS, Nov. 17 (UPI) — Mexico’s secretary of energy said from Paris his country submitted a formal request to join the Western-backed International Energy Agency. Founded in the wake of an Arab oil embargo in the 1970s, Mexican Energy Secretary Joaquin Coldwell said joining the Paris-based IEA would advance regional interests . "The IEA offers a forum to develop joint answers and global co-operation schemes to guarantee energy security, promote economic development and foster environmental sustainability worldwide," the secretary said in a statement. Mexico is the second-largest economy in Latin America and the fourth-largest producer in the region, after the United States, Canada and Brazil, respectively. The government recently auctioned off rights to 14 tracts covering an estimated 2,600 square miles with reserve estimates of around 686 million barrels […]
Look to Mexico for some of the best oil market story lines through 2020
“Reform” is one of those words that means anything you want it to mean. It’s been deployed in so many political fights, it has really lost its meaning in most contexts. I suppose some people still say a teen car thief is sent off to “reform school,” but I doubt it. Here in Mexico City, that word is loaded. I’m writing this 12 floors up from the Paseo de la Reforma, the grand boulevard named for the civil war between liberals and conservatives here in the 1850s and 1860s. “Reform” today in Mexico means the multi-billion dollar undertaking by the government in education, telecommunications, labor and, most importantly to me, energy. Like anyone trying to get anywhere through traffic in the capital, the makeover is running late. Right now it’s about a year late. Traffic circle outside the Mexico City energy conference. Investors will need the craftiness of Diana […]
Mexico Casts Wider Net for Oil Buyers as U.S. Interest Wanes
Mexico isn’t breaking up with U.S. oil refiners, but it sure seems like it wants to see other people. Mexico reduced its crude exports to the U.S. in September to the lowest level in more than 25 years as it looks further away for buyers with Gulf Coast refiners flooded with shale and oil sands. Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-owned oil company, shipped 550,000 barrels a day to the U.S. in September. That’s the lowest level in Energy Ministry records dating back to 1990. It’s the first time since 1992 that less than half of Mexico’s oil exports have gone to its northern neighbor. “We’ve seen the U.S. really squeeze out a lot of importers,” said Carl Larry, head of oil and gas for Frost & Sullivan LP. “Now Mexico is feeling the pressure, too.” U.S. and Canada supplied American refineries with 74 percent of their crude last week, up […]
Pemex receives U.S. oil swap license, but for less than planned
A vehicle is seen beside fuel pumps at a Pemex gas station in Mexico City, January 13, 2015. State oil company Pemex [PEMX.UL] said on Wednesday it had received a license from the United States to import U.S. light crude in exchange for exports of Mexico’s heavier crude oil for the first time, but with a lower ceiling than originally planned. The terms of the year-long license will allow Pemex’s commercial arm, Pemex Comercio Internacional (PMI), to import U.S. light crude to process in its refineries from October, with the limit capped at 75,000 barrels per day (bpd). A Pemex spokesman said the decision to cut the original plan to import up to 100,000 barrels per day was made in accordance with the company’s present needs at its refineries. The first U.S. shipment would arrive in Mexico from the first half of November, he said. "The permit is for […]
Poor quarterly results could push Pemex to sell valuable assets: analysts
Quarterly results reported Wednesday by Pemex could prompt the state company to offer sales or mortgages of valuable assets, including major pipelines and deepwater upstream rights, analysts said. Crude production in the third quarter stood at 2.266 million b/d, down 5.5% from 2.398 million b/d in the same period last year, Pemex said in a report to the Mexico Stock Exchange. The company registered a net loss of 167.7 billion Mexican pesos (about $10 billion), almost three times as much as the 59 billion pesos it lost in last year’s third quarter. Pemex pointed out that its crude export earnings were slashed as the price of its oil dropped to $42.75/b from $90.40/b over the period. "The results may be shocking but they hardly come as a surprise," said Arturo Carranza of the Mexico City-based Solana consultancy. "These sort of negative results have been going on for two years […]
Chinese firm invests in Mexican wind power projects
China’s Envision Energy announced the acquisition of a majority stake in ViveEnergia, a Mexican wind power renewable energy developer. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI MEXICO CITY, Oct. 19 (UPI) — China’s Envision Energy announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the wind energy projects of Mexico’s ViveEnergia. Low-speed wind and turbine manufacturer Envision Energy, based in Shanghai, sees itself as a competitor to the Spanish company Gamesa, which dominates Mexico’s wind energy market with a 73 percent share. Envision Energy’s deal brings it a majority stake in a portfolio of projects not yet started but designed to have a capacity of 600 MW, as well as a strategic partnership with ViveEnergia to develop 1.5 GW of wind energy capacity by 2020. The acquisition includes a plan to bring the planned projects to a ready-to-build stage by the end of 2015, the companies reported. Terms of the agreement were […]
Mexico And Brazil Oil Auction Failures Are Further Proof Of Peak Oil At Current Prices
Summary Mexico’s first attempt to open up its oil industry to foreign companies was a failure. Its auction only attracted $2.6 billion in potential investments, compared to $17 billion maximum potential. Brazil had a similar failure more recently, with only 10% of its blocks being auctioned receiving viable bids. These latest failed auctions, coupled with other facts point to a permanent peak in oil production at current prices, which is unfolding presently, which will only reverse once prices rise. By far the most spectacular and talked about trend since the oil price collapsed more than a year ago, is the dramatic decline in drilling that occurred in the United States since the beginning of this year. For many months, we have been hearing about the resiliency of the shale industry, fueled by the delay in reaction of the industry in response to declining prices. At first, there was a […]
Eni takes lead in new Mexican oil era
Eni among early entrants into a reforming offshore Mexican oil sector. Photo by project1photography/Shutterstock MEXICO CITY, Oct. 1 (UPI) — Italian energy company Eni said it secured a production sharing contract to help develop oil fields off the eastern coast of Mexico. Eni said it won all of the shares in three oil fields included under what the Mexican government categorized as Area 1 during the latest government auction. The Italian company said the combined reserves for the three fields are approximately 800 million barrels of oil and 480 billion cubic feet of associated gas. Eni said it would move quickly on an appraisal campaign to confirm the reserve estimates with the ultimate goal of fast-track development. "Area 1 will be operated by the new company Eni Mexico," the company added. Eni was among the largest winners in the Mexican auction. The Wall Street Journal reports two areas on […]
U.S. Is Net Oil Exporter to Mexico for First Time in Two Decades
The U.S. became a net oil exporter to Mexico for the first time in more than 20 years as output from shale fields pushed the world’s biggest consumer toward energy independence. Net exports — comprising only oil products since the U.S. bans most shipments of crude — totaled 48,000 barrels a day in July, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in data released Wednesday. A decade ago, the country bought a net 1.3 million barrels of oil from its southern neighbor. The emergence of the U.S. as a net supplier to Mexico underscores how the growth of the shale industry is redrawing the global energy map. Output from shale rocks pushed U.S. oil production to a three-decade high earlier this year, driving down prices, boosting margins for refiners and fueling a debate over whether the country should lift restrictions on exports of crude. U.S. net oil imports from Mexico […]
Successful Auction for Oil Drilling Rights in Mexico Follows Weak Debut
Photo An official from Eni, the Italian oil company, at Wednesday’s auction for Mexican drilling leases. Credit Ronaldo Schemidt/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images MEXICO CITY — As the price of oil was plummeting in July, the Mexican government auctioned off leases to explore blocks in the Gulf of Mexico. With energy companies retrenching, the auction was a failure . But Mexico’s fortunes changed on Wednesday. In a follow-up auction, the Mexican government put five production blocks up for bid and awarded contracts for three, well above the average for similar auctions in Latin America. The success of Wednesday’s bidding appeared to put the government’s new oil policy back on track. Mexico has ended more than 75 years of a state monopoly to invite in foreign investment in an attempt to end a decade-long decline in oil production. Investors were attracted by relaxed rules and by the characteristics of the […]
Mexico Defies Oil Price Slump as 60 Percent of Fields Auctioned
Italy’s Eni SpA was among companies winning rights to produce oil in the shallow waters off Mexico’s Gulf coast as the country’s second auction drew more bids for more money than expected. The National Hydrocarbons Commission awarded three out of five Gulf of Mexico offshore contracts to Eni’s ENI International B.V. and two company partnerships with bids that, on average, were double the government’s announced minimum take. The contracts for 60 percent of blocks auctioned was higher than the government’s goal of 30 to 50 percent. Eni won rights to three fields off the coast of Tabasco. Argentinian companies Pan American Energy LLC and E&P Hidrocarburos y Servicios partnered for a bid to win another block off Tabasco’s coast. A consortium formed by Mexican billionaire Alberto Bailleres’ Petrobal S.A.P.I. de C.V. and Fieldwood Energy LLC of the U.S. won a third area with no contesting bids. Two other areas […]
After Oil Auction Snub, Mexico Sweetens Pot — But Is It Enough?
Mexico is sweetening the terms of its next oil-block auction in a bid to avoid a repeat of its failed earlier attempt at opening up the industry. The big question now: Is it enough? Investors will answer that question in a sale on Wednesday of shallow-water exploration and production blocks, only the nation’s second since it nationalized its oil industry in 1938. After global energy giants Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Total SA sat out the first auction in July, Mexico rewrote the rules. This time around, the blocks are bigger, the financial terms less rigid and the government’s slice of the profits smaller. Even with the improved auction terms, Mexico is fighting global headwinds that could hurt the outcome, said Fadel Gheit, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. Oil prices have slumped more than 50 percent in the past year and companies from ConocoPhillips […]
Mexico Sets Minimum Payments for Next Offshore Oil Field Auction
Mexico will require royalty payments of 30 to 36 percent for companies that win rights to produce oil in the nine shallow-water fields up for auction this month, the country’s finance ministry said. Companies that win production sharing contracts to drill in the Gulf of Mexico will have to pay a rate that varies depending on the obligation of each field, according to the e-mailed statement. Mexico won’t require companies to pay an additional royalty for the investment that goes into production and development of each field, known as the work program. The announcement of the minimum financial requirements prior to the awarding of the contracts is one of several adjustments made by the Mexican government to attract more bids than in July, when only two of 14 blocks were awarded to private companies. In the country’s first auction of oil blocks to private companies, Mexico announced the required […]
Mexico Sweetens Terms for Coming Auction of Oil Fields
MEXICO CITY—Mexico sweetened the terms for its September auction of oil fields, setting minimum bids Monday that are generally lower than for the exploratory blocks offered in July, which generated little interest given the weak price environment for oil and gas. The Finance Ministry said the minimum bids for five groups of shallow-water fields guarantee a fair share of profits for the government while keeping the energy sector competitive for private capital. The ministry said the government’s overall take of the oil profits, after royalties and taxes, will be more than half. Industry analysts said the government is taking the right steps to make this month’s auction more successful than July’s. Oil regulators had already made some changes to the contract terms for the September auction to generate greater interest. “I think a very important thing to notice here is that the government is willing to show flexibility going […]
Pemex 2016 Spending Budget Reduced as Woes Build After Reform
As Petroleos Mexicanos seeks investment from outside Mexico, it’s losing some support from the government. President Enrique Pena Nieto announced Tuesday that Mexico’s budget proposal would include 293 billion pesos ($17 billion) for Pemex investment in 2016, down from 366 billion pesos this year and the lowest amount allocated to the world’s ninth-largest crude producer since 2007. As the Mexican state-owned oil producer heads for an 11th straight year of production declines, it now faces a 20 percent cut in its budget for investments in oil fields next year. That puts further pressure on Pemex, which has lost money 11 quarters in a row, as foreign firms line up to bid for the right to drill in Mexican territory. With the goal of boosting supply, the company has no plans to pump less to support prices, Finance Minister Luis Videgaray said Tuesday. The reduction of the company’s investment, which […]
Mexico Sweetens Oil Auction to Draw Firms Hit by Low Oil Prices
MEXICO CITY—Mexico’s hydrocarbons regulator has improved the terms for its September oil auction to drum up more interest among cash-strapped international oil firms reeling from falling prices, with industry analysts applauding the move Wednesday as a step in the right direction. The National Hydrocarbons Commission approved a series of changes in both auction procedures and contract terms that reduce the risk to oil companies seeking to begin operations in Mexico following the nation’s energy opening to private and foreign firms. The first oil block auction under the energy overhaul, held in July, was considered a failure because only two of 14 exploratory offshore blocks were awarded. Mexican officials promised to find ways to improve the terms for the second auction, which are for five groups of already discovered offshore fields. Some analysts said the government has at least partially delivered on its promise. “This is the kind of response […]
Moody’s Puts Mexico’s Pemex on Review for Downgrade
MEXICO CITY— Moody’s Investors Service MCO -0.53 % on Tuesday placed Mexican national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos on review for a possible downgrade in its credit rating, citing falling earnings at the company because of lower crude oil prices and a likely increase in financing needs. The review was prompted by the company’s weak cash generation and financial profile so far in 2015. “Cash generation has weakened due to lower oil prices and will result in large borrowing needs in the near future,” Moody’s said in a release. Pemex is rated A3 by Moody’s, which is the same as Mexico’s sovereign rating. The Mexican government’s outlook is stable. Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s rate Pemex triple-B-plus, the equivalent of one notch below Moody’s. The state company, which pays much of its earnings to the federal government in royalties and taxes, has been steadily increasing investment budgets over the […]
Mexico Cuts Growth Forecast on Oil, U.S. Industrial Output
Mexico cut its growth forecast for this year, a week after a similar move by the central bank, citing declines in oil output and U.S. industrial production. Gross domestic product will expand 2 percent to 2.8 percent this year, down from a May forecast of 2.2 percent to 3.2 percent, Deputy Finance Minister Fernando Aportela said at a news conference Thursday in Mexico City. The economy grew 2.2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the national statistics institute said Thursday. While that beat the 2.1 percent median forecast of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, it’s down from 2.6 percent in the previous quarter and at the low end of the full-year range the government projected three months ago. “There are several factors that have limited growth,” Aportela told reporters at a Mexico City event on Thursday. “One of them is what we saw in the U.S., […]
Mexico Hedges 2016 Oil Exports at $49 a Barrel
MEXICO CITY—Mexico hedged oil exports for 2016 at an average price of $49 a barrel, down 36% from the hedge for this year as oil prices tumble and domestic production declines. The hedging contracts covered 212 million barrels of crude oil, the Finance Ministry said late Wednesday. It cost the government about $1.1 billion, the highest sum since 2010. The 2016 oil hedge is well below the $76.40 a barrel at which the government hedged for this year. The Mexican crude-oil benchmark is trading near $38, some 60% lower than a year ago. Mexico, the world’s ninth-largest oil producer, uses the hedge to protect its public finances from unexpected oil shocks. The government buys options to guarantee a minimum price for its crude. But the oil hedge will provide only limited relief for a government accustomed in recent years to oil prices near $100 a barrel. About 18% of […]
Exclusive: U.S. approves landmark crude oil export swaps with Mexico
Oil pump jacks are seen next to a strawberry field in Oxnard, California February 24, 2015. The Obama administration will allow limited sales of U.S. crude to Mexico for the first time, a senior administration official told Reuters, marking another milestone in loosening a contentious ban on exporting domestic oil. The Commerce Department is "acting favorably on a number of applications" to export U.S. crude in exchange for imported Mexican oil, the official said. Such oil swaps are one of several possible exemptions allowed in the four-decade-old law that otherwise bans most overseas shipments. The approvals come eight months after Mexico formally sought permission for a swap, a historic step for a nation where oil self-sufficiency has long been a source of pride. The shipments, likely to be lighter, high-quality shale oil, will help Mexico’s aging refineries produce more premium fuels. U.S. refiners will continue to get Mexican heavy […]
Pemex Cuts Back on Rigs as Oil Price Languishes
By Laurence Iliff MEXICO CITY–National oil company Petróleos Mexicanos is cutting back on drilling rigs to bring its costs more in line with languishing oil prices, much to the dismay of some rig leasers who didn’t anticipate Mexico’s sole petroleum producer would move so quickly and aggressively. Pemex is also renegotiating rates on rigs that it wants to keep under contract as the oil company slashes $4 billion from this year’s investment budget and prepares for more austerity next year, officials at the oil firm said. "The idea here was not to strangle or squeeze our suppliers, it is to get through a very hard time which we hope at some point is going to even out," said Pemex’s chief procurement officer Arturo Henríquez Autrey. He estimates the firm’s rig leases have fallen to 41 from 61, with shallow-water jack-up rigs cut the most. Pemex is spending about $1.8 […]
U.S. Natural Gas Exports to Mexico Taking Off
Just as Space X rockets may be taking off from the beaches at Boca Chica near Brownsville, natural gas exports to Mexico look to also sky rocket in the coming years. Due to changes in Mexican law in 2013 opening the electricity market to private investment, billions of dollars in contracts have been let to build power plants, electrical distribution facilities and natural gas pipelines. In turn U.S. pipeline companies and gas producers have moved to capture the lion’s share of that market. Given the fact that Texas and Gulf Coast producers have been rapidly losing their old Northeast and Midwest markets to Marcellus producers this has proven to be a timely and vital new market. The Energy Information Agency (EIA) estimates that natural gas exports to Mexico were 3% of production in April 2015 and are expected to grow to 5% by 2030. While not nearly as important […]
Mexico Said to Start Annual Oil-Hedging Program as Prices Drop
Mexico started its annual program to lock in oil sales for the coming year as a shield against a further drop in prices, three people with direct knowledge said. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are among the banks involved, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. Mexico’s hedging program is probably the largest undertaken by a national government, the chief economist for the country’s Finance Ministry said in 2012. The Latin American country has started buying the puts, which gives it the right to sell oil at a predetermined price, earlier than the usual period of late August to late September, the people said. They declined to provide further details, including the price level. Mexico’s hedging program has often roiled energy markets since its introduction in 1990-91. Spokesmen for Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JPMorgan and […]
Mexico delays auction of deepwater oil assets
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Pemex Reports 11th Straight Loss as Accidents Cripple Output
Petroleos Mexicanos posted its 11th consecutive quarterly loss as a series of accidents combined with a collapse in oil prices to batter the state-run producer’s earnings. The company’s net loss widened to 84.6 billion pesos ($5.2 billion) in the second quarter from 53 billion pesos a year earlier, Pemex, as the Mexico City-based producer in known, said in a statement Thursday. Sales slid 24 percent to 308.9 billion pesos as output fell to the lowest level in 24 years. Pemex’s earnings were crimped after U.S. benchmark oil prices fell an average 44 percent from 2014 and production slid following three offshore accidents in as many months. Production averaged 2.23 million barrels a day in the quarter, a 9.8 percent decrease from a year earlier, and has declined for 10 straight years since reaching 3.3 million in 2004. “We continue to face the effects of the accident at Abkatun along […]
Norwegian company surveying offshore Mexican reserves
Norwegian energy company Dolphin Geophysical starts survey of Mexican waters as the nation works to overhaul its oil sector. Map courtesy of Dolphin Geophysical OSLO, Norway, July 28 (UPI) — A Norwegian energy company said it was surveying Mexican waters for the reserve potential in anticipation of a "new era" in the nation’s oil sector. Dolphin Geophysical said Tuesday it started a seismic survey campaign off the western Mexican coast, saying the campaign coordinates with the nation’s recent sector reforms. "Dolphin is very pleased to begin the acquisition of its first survey of this new era in Mexican petroleum exploration," Andy Phipps, regional president for the company, said in a statement. The Mexican government recently auctioned off rights to an estimated 2,600 square miles with reserve estimates of around 686 million barrels of oil equivalent, most of which exists as light crude oil. The auction drew interest from mid-sized […]