Is this the begining of the End of Mexico and [i]Oil[/i]

**Redleg** · 07-27-2006, 06:11

Interesting article found on the internet today. Didn't see it spread around a lot but thought I would share it with the Org.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...lines-business

Originally Posted by First Paragraphs of Article

MEXICO CITY — Output at Mexico's most important oil field has fallen steeply this year, raising fears that wells there that generate 60% of the country's petroleum are in the throes of a major decline.

Production at Cantarell, the world's second-largest oil complex, in the shallow gulf waters off the shore of Mexico's southern Campeche state, averaged just over 1.8 million barrels a day in May, according to the most recent government figures. That's a 7% drop from the first of the year and the lowest monthly output since July 2005, when Hurricane Emily forced the evacuation of thousands of oil workers from the region.

**Strike For The South** · 07-27-2006, 06:13

all this means is more illegals. Oh happy day.

**Sigurd** · 07-27-2006, 08:31

This bodes ill for the US as well. Mexico is the no.2 oil supplier to the US.
China is currently taking most of the new contracts including those from Venezuela.
Who will supply the US if Mexico runs dry?

**Strike For The South** · 07-27-2006, 08:59

Texas. Will just dig deeper

**Banquo's Ghost** · 07-27-2006, 09:04

Originally Posted by Gelatinous Cube

I'd be just as apt to blame the lack of production in Mexico's oil fields to a lack of quality personell as I would blame it on the wells running out.

Well, it's a view but one that doesn't seem to be shared by oil experts. Why for instance, has the quality of personel dropped so drastically in the last year?

From the article, most industry experts seemed to have expected this, in the same way many of the big fields have been considered towards the end of their lives.

I would have thought the conservative eyebrow would have arched at this:

Originally Posted by article

The trouble, analysts say, is that the government's take is so large that it has left little to reinvest in Pemex to keep the black gold flowing.

Massive taxation for social purposes seems to have crippled Pemex's ability to discover new oil fields to replace those that inevitably dry up.

**Sigurd** · 07-27-2006, 10:36

Originally Posted by Banquo's Ghost

Massive taxation for social purposes seems to have crippled Pemex's ability to discover new oil fields to replace those that inevitably dry up.

Pemex is a state owned company just as our Statoil...
If I remember correctly the state of Mexico borrowed a heap load of money to invest in technology and build up Pemex resulting in Mexico getting 5th place in the world for oil-export.
My knowledge of Mexico is not as good but could it be that this loan is straining her economy and results in bad decision making on further development in her oil sector?

Let the future reveal itself, hopefully we can share some of our technology. We do proud ourselves of being a world leader in technology development for off-shore oil production. We don't want the US finding other sources for energy and thingme production.

**Vladimir** · 07-27-2006, 13:35

The problem is (surprise), Socialism! That's right! Because of the Mexican nationalization of its natural resources outside investment isn't allowed (maybe to a small extent). I read an interesting article a while back (sorry, don't have the link) comparing and contrasting Canada’s (Quebec?) natural resources policy to Mexico's. Both countries say the state owns the land and the resources under it but Canada allows private companies to extract if for them (a good ballance?). In Mexico, only they state is allowed to extract the oil. Therefore the technology needed to make their fields productive isn’t available and everyone suffers except for their corrupt politicians (in the finest Spanish tradition of course).

**Sigurd** · 07-27-2006, 14:21

Originally Posted by Vladimir

The problem is (surprise), Socialism!

This shouldn't be the problem...

**Redleg** · 07-27-2006, 14:25

Oh wait - I forgot to mention this little tidbit. Some oil experts are arguing because of the comet strike that is believed to have created the Gulf of Mexico that there is plently of oil in the deep sea in the Gulf.

http://www.energybulletin.net/1957.html

State oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said last week the company has mapped out seven blocks of potential hydrocarbon reserves that could contain 54 billion barrels of oil, 45 billion of that under deep water in the Gulf of Mexico.