Mexico Key Projects and Business Highlights
Since 2004, when Mexico was able to produce 3.4 million barrels per day (b/d), this oil and gas giant managed to come down to 2.55 million b/d on first half 2013 due to a constitution concentrating in one state owned company, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) all the responsibilities to explore and produce the oil and gas from the national assets without sharing any working interests nor expertise with the international oil companies (IOCs) such as BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell, Statoil or Total.
Although Mexico still ranks among the world top 10 countries by the amount of conventional oil and gas reserves, most of the fields matured and turned into depletion while Pemex did not succeed to discover and develop substitute resources from new fields to compensate the old ones in the meantime.
As a result, Mexico is no longer self-sufficient in natural and several refined hydrocarbon products, so that it currently import 49% of its gasoline consumption, $21 billion worth of petrochemical products, and 2,130 cubic feet/day (cf/d) of natural gas.
These imports of energy and refined products has consequences on the trading balance of the country.
Mexico cannot afford any longer these additional costs for the country nor the consequence for the industry in energy shortages leading the new President Enrique Pena Nieto to present a reform of the constitution to allow foreign companies to invest in Mexico.
Presented on August 12th 2013, this reform of the Mexico constitution addresses five points:
– Allow Pemex to sign with foreign companies Risks and Profits Sharing Contracts
– Reform Pemex tax scheme to encourage long term investments in research and development
– Re-organize Pemex around only two different branches, Pemex E&P, as previously, and Pemex Industrial Transformation merging all the previous Pemex downstream and midstream Divisions
– Improve transparency and accountability in operations and procurements with centralized procurement activities
– Introduce local content requirements in order to preserve the interests of the Mexican industry while introducing foreign major companies in the local oil and gas industry.
With this reform Mexico expects to maintain 100% replacement rate of its oil and gas reserves and ramp up its production from the current 2.55 million b/d to 3 million b/d in 2018 and 3.5 million b/d in 2025.
For the gas, Mexico is targeting a production of 8 billion cf/d in 2018 and 10.4 billion cf/d in 2025.
Pemex to release Ayatsil call for tender in September
The Mexican national oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), selected the concept of the floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to develop its Ayatsil-Tekel discovery in the shallow water of the Campeche Basin in the Gulf of Mexico.
Pemex to ramp up investments in 2013
The Mexican construction and oil field service company Grupo R ordered four jack-up drilling rigs to Keppel Fels in Singapore to support the exploration and production program planned by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) to stop the Mexican production to decline and to increase it again.
Pemex awards Litoral A series of offshore platforms
In October 2012, the national oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) selected Dragados Offshore from Spain for the Compresion Alta Litoral A (CA Litoral A) project.
This CA Litoral A project is part of the Litoral A Pemex‘s program to develop recent oil discoveries in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Perdido discoveries to double Pemex crude oil reserves
The Mexican national oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) made two major discoveries in a month in the Perdido Fold Belt deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico.
In August 2012, Trion-1, first Pemex’s successful well was drilled only 39 kilometers from the US territorial waters by 2,540 meters deepwater depth on the Mexican side of the Perdido Fold Belt.
Pemex to import natural gas from Eagle Ford shale field
The Mexican national oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), through its international gas trading division MexGas International (MGI), is pursuing several pipelines projects to import natural gas from USA.
In Mexico as in other countries, the price of the natural gas is a key driver of the performances of the local industry.
