Oil Production
Mexico produces three grades of crude oil: heavy Maya-22 (accounting for more than half of the total production); light, low-sulfur Isthmus-34 (28% of production); and extra-light Olmeca-39 (20% of production). At the beginning of 2002 Mexico had the second largest proven oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere with 30.8 billion barrels (4.90×109 m3). However, according to Pemex, Mexico’s reserves/production ratio fell from 20 years in 2002 to 10 years in 2006, and Mexico had only 12.4 billion barrels (1.97×109 m3) of proven oil reserves left by 2007. Mexico stands ninth in the worldwide ranking of conventional oil reserves with only Venezuela higher in the Western Hemisphere (although Canada ranks higher if proven reserves of unconventional oil in oil sands are included).
Pemex is Mexico's state-owned petroleum company and the sole supplier of all commercial gasoline (petrol/diesel) stations in the country. Cantarell Field is the largest oil field in Mexico and one of the largest in the world producing. As of Jan 2001, Mexico has approximately 10.42 billion barrels (1.657×109 m3) in proven oil reserves. In November 2006, Pemex reported that Cantarell has produced 11.492 billion barrels (1.8271×109 m3) of oil. Several oil fields have also been discovered in the Chicontepec Basin. The Chicontepec fields contains Mexico's largest, certified hydrocarbon reserve, totaling more than 19,000,000,000 barrels of oil equivalent (1.2×1011 GJ) with original oil in place of over 139,000,000,000 barrels of oil equivalent (8.5×1011 GJ); recovery is complicated by challenging, low recovery rate reservoirs, but is made more attractive due to the presence of light and super-light oil.
In 2002, the Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil field was discovered offshore in the Bay of Campeche, 105 kilometers from Ciudad del Carmen. Pemex plans to drill 82 fields and install 17 oil platforms, as well as build an oil pipeline of 166 kilometers to transport the oil produced. By 2011, production is expected to reach 800 thousand barrels per day (130×103 m3/d) and 282 million cubic feet (8.0×106 m3) of natural gas.
In an interview on the oil news website, oilcast.com, in November 2005, an anonymous Pemex employee revealed the company's inability to increase production, stating that the country is at Hubbert's Peak. The individual interviewed believed export levels could not be recovered once peak had passed, as the size of current fields that have been discovered or are coming online represent a fraction of the size of the oil fields going into terminal decline.
Annual production has dropped or failed to increase each year since 2004. Furthermore, it has been reported the 2005-2006 daily oil production was down by approximately 500 thousand barrels per day (79×103 m3/d) on the previous year. Nevertheless, Mexico still produced approximately 2.98 million barrels (474×103 m3) of oil per day (2010 est.) ranking it seventh in the world in terms of total production.
| Year | Oil Production | Rank | Percentile Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| million barrels per day | thousand cubic meters per day | |||
| 2003 | 3.59 | 571 | 5 | N/A |
| 2004 | 3.59 | 571 | 5 | 0.00% |
| 2005 | 3.46 | 550 | 5 | -3.62% |
| 2006 | 3.42 | 544 | 6 | -1.16% |
| 2007 | 3.50 | 556 | +2,3% | |
| 2009 | 3.00 | 477 | ||
| 2010 (est) | 2.98 | 474 | 7 | -0,1% |
| 2011 (est) | 2.5 | 400 | ||
Read more about this topic: Petroleum Industry In Mexico
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