Free Republic

Fuel theft is fast becoming one of Mexico’s most pressing economic and security dilemmas, sapping more than $1 billion in annual revenue from state coffers, terrorizing workers and deterring private investment in aging refineries that the government, following a 2014 energy reform, hoped instead would be thriving with foreign capital. Because of government offensives that toppled narco kingpins in recent years, Mexico's drug cartels have splintered and are eager for new sources of revenue. ... The cash-rich cartels, believed by the Mexican government to generate well over $21 billion each year, are an increasing threat to Pemex, which in 2016...

Block among first awarded for private exploration in Mexico Premier Oil shares jump as much as 38% on Zama-1 well success Mexico’s decision to allow private companies to explore for oil and gas started to pay off after the discovery of at least a billion barrels in a new offshore field.A consortium of Premier Oil Plc, Sierra Oil & Gas S de RL de CVand Talos Energy LLC made the discovery in the shallow waters of the southern Gulf of Mexico just two years after winning the exploration license. It’s the first new find by a private company in the country...

Remittances sent home by Mexicans working outside the country surpassed petroleum revenues in 2015 for the first time. There was a 4.75% increase in money sent from abroad, most of which comes from the U.S., to total US $24.8 billion last year, up from $23.6 billion in 2014, said the Bank of Mexico. An important factor in the increase in remittances is the jobs created by economic recovery in the U.S. Some 11 million Mexicans are believed to be living in the U.S. and many work in construction. Remittances, 97% of which are sent electronically, averaged $292 last year. We...

On August 14 the Obama Administration announced that the Commerce Department would approve applications to export up to 100,000 barrels of light crude per day to Mexico in a swap arrangement for an equivalent volume of heavy crude from Mexico. This type of export has previously been available between The US and Canada, and perhaps indicates willingness to eventually repeal the crude export ban. Here’s a quick little recap and analysis of the situation. WHY IS THIS A BIG DEAL? After the 1975 oil shock, The United States banned the export of crude oil in order to stabilize the price....

Recently announced crude oil swaps with Mexico likely to provide economic and environmental benefits Under licenses approved earlier this month by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), an office within the Department of Commerce that administers export controls on crude oil, volumes of crude oil produced in the United States and Mexico up to the approved volume cap will be exchanged. These swaps will likely involve U.S light sweet crude, such as the growing output from shale formations in the United States, and Mexican heavy sour crude. The approved swaps are expected to be both economically and environmentally beneficial...

Mexican state oil company Pemex announced five new shallow­water discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico in what it said was its biggest exploration success in five years. Emilio Lozoya, Pemex chief, made the announcement at the inauguration of a national oil and gas conference one month before Mexico’s historic first oil and gas tender. The July 15 auction, of 14 shallow­water exploration blocks in the same area as the new discoveries, is expected to signal the start of billions of dollars in private investment flowing into the sector. “The certain prospect of 200,000 extra barrels of production is very good...

The United States is edging towards an historic agreement to swap crude oil with Mexico. The deal is important as it brings some relief to US producers struggling with a light oil glut at home and for Mexican national oil company, Pemex, which is hoping to mix the lighter crude coming out of US shale fields with its heavier blend. However, the arrangement is not just about the relationship between the US and Mexico. It’s also about broader North American energy integration. And critically, many experts see the deal as another crack in the US crude oil export ban. The...

<p>An explosion at the main headquarters of Mexico's state- owned oil company in the capital Thursday heavily damaged three floors of the building, sending hundreds into the streets and a large plume of smoke over the skyline. Local media reported that at least one person had died and about 40 were injured.</p>

The agreement, which would open up an area the size of Delaware to (Mexico's) exploration, has already been confirmed by Mexico's legislature, Salazar said in a speech calling for action on U.S. energy policy. "We shouldn't have to wait to act on the agreement either," he said. "Congress should act."

Very few offshore oil and natural gas drilling rigs will actually resume activity within the first month the deepwater drilling moratorium is lifted in the Gulf of Mexico, a top Interior Department official said Monday. "Even when the moratorium is lifted, you won't see drilling going on the next day or even the next week," Michael Bromwich, head of the Interior Department's new Bureau of Ocean Management, Regulation, and Enforcement said during testimony in front of the Oil Spill Commission on Monday. He said it would be difficult for the oil and gas industry to comply with new safety requirements,...