Mexico Should Sell Pemex’s Refinery, Chemical Units, Slim Says
Mexico, the world’s No. 6 oil producer, should sell stakes in the petrochemicals and refinery units of state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos to private investors to help free up funds and increase output, billionaire Carlos Slim said.
Pemex, Mexico’s only oil company, will need to remain in government hands because of its importance to the economy, Slim, the country’s richest man and the world’s fourth wealthiest, said in an interview in New York. The Mexican government should insulate Pemex from politics by appointing professional managers and independent board members, Slim said.
“Pemex is the main tool of fiscal and monetary policy and a leverage for development, so it should be state-owned,'’ said Slim, 65, whose telecommunications, banking and industrial companies account for almost half of Mexico’s benchmark stock index. “But some parts like petrochemicals and refinery could be open to private investment.'’
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Mexico should sell stakes in Pemex, billionaire says
Mexico, which nationalized its oil industry in 1938, should sell stakes in the petrochemicals and refinery units of state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos to private investors to help free up funds and increase output, billionaire Carlos Slim said.
Pemex, Mexico's only oil company, will need to remain in government hands because of its importance to the economy, Slim said in an interview in New York. The Mexican government should insulate Pemex from politics by appointing professional managers and independent board members, Slim said.
"Pemex is the main tool of fiscal and monetary policy and a leverage for
Rita shuts down oil production in Gulf of Mexico
The impending strike of Hurricane Rita on the Texas coast poses as much of a risk to chemical output as it does to oil production and refining, analysts say, threatening shortages of key chemicals in coming days and weeks.
An estimated 72 percent of all U.S. production capacity for ethylene was in the strike area of Rita.
"About 72 percent of U.S. ethylene capacity is in the risk area, while 26 percent of U.S. refinery capacity is there," said an analyst .
The devastating effects of Katrina on the Gulf of Mexico also pushed natural
Shell Oil said it has begun producing crude oil and natural gas from its Cougar and Enchilada units in the Gulf of Mexico.
"Today we began producing from our Cougar and Enchilada assets in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Yellowhammer Gas Processing Plant, in Mobile Bay, Alabama, is now operating," the company said in a statement.
Shell did not elaborate on production levels.
The Enchilada unit, about 300 kilometres southwest of New Orleans, has a peak daily production from its two platforms of 32,800 barrels of crude and 52 million cubic metres of gas, according to the Shell website.
Shell's Cougar platform is
CentAm Energy Summit in Mexico
Central American presidents are meeting this Tuesday in Cancun, Mexico, to discuss energy plans and agree on a project to build a refinery and a 1,625-mile gas pipeline, as well as a regional power generating plant.
The project, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, also includes the establishment of a marketing company to purchase oil and sell gasoline in southeast Mexico, Panama and Colombia. Some $6-billion will be invested on this enterprise.
The refinery will process Mexican oil for the country and Central America and create a gas station network under the franchise of the state Mexican
Slim Persuades Mexico's Roberto Madrazo to Sign National Accord
Carlos Slim, Mexico's richest man, persuaded presidential candidate Roberto Madrazo to sign a national accord that ha backing from both union and business leaders.
The 12-page National Accord for Unity, Law, Development, Investment and Employment calls for cutting energy costs, overhauling the legal system and investing more in roads, said a spokesman for the accord. Slim, 65, is asking candidates to endorse the program to spur economic growth in Latin America's second-biggest economy.
Madrazo is running second to Andres Lopez Obrador according to a November Consulta Mitofsky poll. Lopez Obrador, the former
Mexicos August auto production up 19.5% to 179,527 units
Mexico auto production and exports continued to grow at a solid pace in August, while domestic sales were little changed from the year-ago month, the Mexican Auto Industry Association, or AMIA, said Monday.
AMIA said production last month rose 19.5% from August 2005 to 179,527 units. Exports jumped 38.2% to 136,114 units, and domestic sales edged up 0.3% to 90,936 units.
The recovery in the Mexican auto industry, the countrys biggest single manufacturing sector, contributed significantly to the 5.4% year-on-year increase in manufacturing in the first half of the year.
Source : marketwatch.com
UPDATE: Mexico 2005 Auto Production Up 6.6% To 1.6 Million Units
MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Mexico's auto production rose 6.6% last year to 1.6 million units, reversing four years of declines in a key manufacturing sector, the Auto Industry Association said Tuesday.
AMIA, as the trade group is known, said exports last year rose 8.4% to 1.2 million units, and domestic sales - which include imported cars - rose 3.3% to 1.1 million units.
The auto industry represents the largest single manufacturing sector in Mexico, and weakness in the industry has proved a drag on growth in industrial production in recent
Mexico to hire consultant on oil project
Mexico and nine other countries mostly from Central America will choose by Jan. 20 a firm to help them study the best location for a regional oil refinery, said Mexico´s Energy Secretary at a news conference.
Presidents from the group of countries, which include Colombia and the Dominican Republic, in a meeting on Tuesday in Cancun also agreed to form a company with about US$100 million to buy oil and distribute the gasoline produced by the refinery, said Mexican Energy Minister Fernando Canales, according to the transcript of a news conference held today and
Mexico: International funding available for Mexico-Central America refinery
International funding is available for a proposed oil refinery in Central America that would help reduce the cost of fuel for countries in the region, Mexico's energy secretary said Wednesday.
"We've already received offers from monetary institutions to finance 100 percent of the project," Secretary Fernando Canales said in an interview with W Radio. Specifically, Canales mentioned the Inter-American Development Bank as a potential sponsor.
Mexican and Central American leaders formalized their agreement to build a refinery in an as-yet-undesignated Central American country during the Americas Summit last week in Argentina.
Mexican
Mexico's Slim Urges Spending Up to $2 Bln on Mexico City Water
Mexico's Carlos Slim, Latin America's wealthiest businessman, said he's pushing for a combination of government and private investment to spend as much as $2 billion to ease Mexico City's water shortage.
Slim has a three-point plan to increase the supply of water in the Valley of Mexico by fixing leaky water pipelines, capturing rainwater in reservoirs and building water treatment plants, he said following an event on improving Mexico City's downtown area.
``This is where it makes sense for private investment to support these projects so they're not limited
