SOURCE:[Commodity Dispatch] – In 2011, state-run Mexican oil giant Petróleos Mexicanos “Pemex” pumped an average of 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, down 25% from its 2004 total of 3.4 million barrels of oil. Mexico has vast reserves of oil but Pemex is losing the technology battle to multi-national companies like Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-A-NYSE), Exxon Mobile (XOM-NYSE) and BP (BP-NYSE).
An independent energy commission predicted that Mexico could become a net oil importer in the next decade if it cannot replace a drop in output from major oil fields with new discoveries. The commission observed that only 22% of Pemex’s exploration projects were funded in 2011.
