Mexico boosts output targets, but slashes reserves

Gary Park, Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Mexico’s stated-owned Pemex is targeting an 8 percent hike in crude oil production this year to 3.43 million barrels per day.

That would raise its export potential to the United States by 20 percent to 2 million barrels per day, supplanting Saudi Arabia, Canada and Venezuela as the leading external sources of U.S. crude.

Pemex’s annual report also forecast 2 percent growth in natural gas output to 4.42 billion cubic feet per day.

The company said the increases are possible because of a surge in upstream investment that followed the election of President Vicente Fox in late 2000.

That momentum will continue this year if Pemex achieves its goal of 581 development wells, almost 50 percent ahead of 2002.

But tougher accounting standards have lowered Mexico’s proven reserves of crude and equivalent and natural gas to 20.08 billion barrels, a dramatic drop from 30.8 billion barrels at the end of 2001.

Over the same period, proven probable and possible reserves dipped almost 3 billion barrels to 50 billion barrels.