Pemex increased oil production, refining in March
Mexico’s state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos increased crude production to 1.745 million barrels per day (bpd) in March while processing more at its domestic refineries, according to official data seen by Reuters.
Mexico agreed to a 100,000-bpd output cut as part of an initiative by the OPEC+ group to push up plummeting oil prices by withdrawing barrels from an oversupplied market. The cuts will be put in place this month.
Mexico’s energy minister, Rocio Nahle, said the nation would cut output only during May and June.
The reduction is expected to mostly affect newly drilled oilfields while a larger portion of shallow-water production by Pemex, as the company is known, would be used for domestic refining.
Pemex’s crude production has consistently grown this year from 1.724 million bpd in January, including shared oilfields, official figures showed. Last week, the company reported a massive loss of nearly $24 billion in the first quarter and announced a $1.9 billion cut in its investment budget.
Pemex’s crude processing at its refineries rose to almost 600,000 bpd in March from 464,018 bpd the previous month, the official data showed. Pemex said its total production of fuel averaged 717,400 bpd last month. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Comments