Mexico may look far afield for natural gas
Mexico is considering going abroad to drill for natural gas and is eyeing Peru, Bolivia, Australia and Qatar as countries that could boost its flagging domestic output, local media reported Tuesday.
The government, which wants to diversify Mexico’s sources of natural gas to reduce its vulnerability to price spikes in the United States, is talking to private companies about jointly producing natural gas abroad, according to the daily El Universal.
The idea would be to control every step of the chain, from drilling the natural gas to transporting it to Mexico.
“We are studying a win-win scheme of buying the gas, making the investment and bringing it to Mexico,” Energy Undersecretary Hector Moreira was quoted as saying.
“There are no legal restrictions, and there is financing on an international level,” he added.
An energy ministry spokesman confirmed the comments by Moreira.
The newspaper said the alliance could include state oil company Pemex, the country’s main electricity supplier CFE and unidentified private companies.
More: chron.com
Lopez Vows to Make Mexico Self Sufficient in Fuels
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the frontrunner in presidential polls for more than two years, pledged to make Mexico self sufficient in natural gas and gasoline in three years by increasing spending on the energy industry.
``Within three years, it's our promise and goal stop importing natural gas and gasoline,'' Lopez Obrador said during a Mexico City business conference.
Lopez Obrador said the lack of new refineries is ``criminal'' and promised to modernize the country's energy industry. Mexico now imports gasoline and natural gas from the U.S.
The candidate from the Democratic
US Gulf of Mexico oil output 100 pct shut-MMS
Offshore U.S. crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was totally shut for the second straight day on Sunday with natural gas output also lower, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said in its daily report logging the impact of Hurricane Rita and the prior Hurricane Katrina.
The MMS said the percentage of oil output shut was 100 percent for both Sunday and Saturday, up from 99.125 percent on Friday. The normal daily oil output from Gulf of Mexico operations is 1.5 million barrels per day.
For natural gas, 8.047 billion cubic feet
Offshore U.S. crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was totally shut on Saturday with natural gas output also lower, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said in its daily report logging the impact of Hurricane Rita and the prior Hurricane Katrina.
MMS said the percentage of oil output shut was 100 percent, up from 99.125 percent on Friday. The normal daily oil output from Gulf of Mexico operations is 1.5 million barrels per day.
The report said 1.5 million bpd of crude oil production was shut as Saturday, in contrast to 1.486 million bpd reported shut on Friday.
For natural
Offshore U.S. crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was totally shut on Saturday with natural gas output also lower, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said in its daily report logging the impact of Hurricane Rita and the prior Hurricane Katrina.
MMS said the percentage of oil output shut was 100 percent, up from 99.125 percent on Friday. The normal daily oil output from Gulf of Mexico operations is 1.5 million barrels per day.
The report said 1.5 million bpd of crude oil production was shut as Saturday, in contrast to 1.486 million bpd reported shut on Friday.
For natural gas,
All Gulf of Mexico rigs, platforms remanned: MMS
All 953 oil and natural-gas rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico have been remanned following the evacuations last week because of Hurricane Dennis, according to the latest report from the U.S. Minerals Management Service. A total of 5.3 million barrels of oil production and 23.2 billion cubic feet of natural-gas output were shut in between July 8 and July 14, the MMS said
This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com
More: futures.fxstreet.com
Shell Swaps Stake in Gulf of Mexico Field
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Thursday it will swap its 17 percent stake in the Gulf of Mexico's Tahiti field for Total SA's interests in natural gas assets in South Texas.
The Tahiti field, nearly 190 miles southwest of New Orleans, is operated by Chevron Corp. Total said first production is planned for mid-2008 from a floating production facility with daily capacity of 125,000 barrels of oil and 70 million cubic feet of natural gas.
Source: news.moneycentral.msn.com
$1 billion guaranteed for projects in Mexico
The U.S. Export-Import Bank has approved $1 billion in long-term loan guarantees for U.S. companies providing equipment and services to Petróleos Mexicanos, Mexico's state-owned oil company.
The three loans are for oil and natural gas exploration, development and production in Mexico, and they will involve nearly 300 U.S. companies, many of which are in Texas.
A $300 million loan guarantee will finance U.S. companies working on the Strategic Gas Program, which aims to help meet Mexico's increasing demand for natural gas. Offshore Drilling Co. and Noble Mexico, both of Houston, and Sugar Land-based Noble Campeche are
Mexico to lose money on energy subsidies
Temporary limits on the price of natural gas and liquefied natural gas will cost Mexico's government about US$850 million (euro690 million) by the end of the year the head of Mexico's state oil company said Tuesday.
Most of the figure is lost revenue due to the government's decision to limit prices for distributors to blunt Hurricane Katrina's impact on the world oil market, said Luis Ramirez Corzo, director-general of Petroleos Mexicanos.
President Vicente Fox on Monday announced measures to keep energy costs down for millions of Mexicans in response to soaring world prices caused partly
Mexico may open niche for private business
Mexico has edged closer to opening a narrow loophole in its legal framework to allow natural gas exploration and production by private companies. But the opening in Pemex's monopoly over gas rights applies only to Mexican coal mining companies.
Mexico's Chamber of Deputies overwhelmingly approved changes to the constitution recently to allow coal mining companies to explore for and produce coal bed methane. The initiative, proposed in 2003, was revived after methane gas apparently caused an explosion in a coal mine in northern Mexico last month, killing 65 miners.
"The reforms apply to coal producers, and
Chevron evacuating Gulf of Mexico workers before Rita
Chevron Corp. said Monday it is evacuating oil rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico before Tropical Storm Rita hits, a move which could reduce oil production in the region.
based Chevron (NYSE:CVX) told Reuters that its evacuations were a normal procedure, similar to what it did before Hurricane Katrina blew through the Gulf.
Chevron didn't say how the evacuation will affect its oil or natural gas production.
Tropical Storm Rita was heading toward the Florida Keys and several weather models projected it would enter the Gulf and become a category one hurricane.
Reuters
