Free Republic

MEXICO CITY, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Mexico's Pemex has detected vast new oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico that could double the country's total reserves and boost its oil output to rival Saudi Arabia's, the state oil monopoly said on Monday.The deposits - located mainly in deep waters for which Pemex will need hefty investments and technology-sharing agreements to access - could total about 54 billion barrels of crude equivalent (bce), which would boost Mexico's total reserves to 102 billion bce.'snip'Pemex's head of exploration and production, Luis Ramirez, was quoted in daily El Universal om Monday as saying that...

PEMEX (Petróleos Mexicanos) is the world's fifth-largest oil company. It is protected from competition in Mexico, where it enjoys a legal monopoly on the exploration, processing and sale of petroleum. And its privileged status in national mythology affords it a certain immunity from criticism. PEMEX is also in deep trouble. It's heavily-indebted and unable to provide the capital necessary to locate and exploit Mexico's oil deposits. Energy Minister Felipe Calderon recently announced that, without more investment, Mexico's known reserves could be depleted within 13 years. This wasn't the future envisioned by President Lazaro Cardenas, who expelled the foreign oil...

Mexico's state oil company Pemex plans to make some 3,000 redundancies, cutting its workforce 2% as part of a restructuring plan which aims for increased efficiency, energy secretary Felipe Calderón was quoted as saying to local media. This announcement follows last week's decision to cut three of the company's seven departments and a few weeks after Pemex posted first quarter net losses of US$89mn. "Pemex is an integral part of Mexico, which is why it has been decided to take measures to improve the company, allowing us to reach more important goals," Pemex head Raúl Múnoz Leos was quoted as...

Business News Americas (BNamericas.com) Mexico's state environmental protection organization Profepa has lifted the temporary closure of four wells belonging to Mexico's state oil company Pemex in a Tabasco state nature reserve after Pemex signed an agreement to repair damages and sponsor an environmental information campaign, newspaper Reforma reported. Repairing the damage is estimated to cost 4mn-6mn pesos (US$343,000-515,000).

Mexican President Vicente Fox said Tuesday that the country's state-run oil giant, Pemex, will not be privatized and will continue to be "proudly Mexican." "It is historically and rightfully ours. Only the residents of this great country can decide its use, exploitation and fate," Fox said at opening ceremonies for the natural gas processing complex in Burgos, in the northern state of Tamaulipas. "Today, 66 years after its expropriation, oil is and will continue to be one of the fundamental riches of the Mexican people," the president added. Fox was referring to the announcement of the nationalization of the oil...

Rogelio Montemayor, the former director of the Mexican state oil company, surrendered to authorities in Houston today to face extradition back home on charges stemming from a campaign funding scandal. In an interview before appearing in court, Montemayor said he would rather surrender to U.S. authorities because the process in Mexico has become too politically tainted. The allegations that $166 million went from oil company Pemex to the campaign of presidential candidate Francisco Labastida in 2000 -- dubbed "Pemexgate" -- have emerged as a major scandal in Mexico. "I resolve to prove my innocence," Montemayor said in the interview, explaining...