MEXICO CITY: Crude oil exports and output fell in March for Mexican oil company Pemex, just as the state-run producer is opening up to competition for the first time in decades.
Pemex’s crude exports fell nearly 6 percent in March, while crude production was down 0.5 percent compared with February figures, the company said on Monday.
Average crude oil exports in March reached 1.228 million barrels per day (bpd), the lowest since October. Crude production in March averaged 2.319 million bpd, the third lowest monthly number since 1986, according to Pemex data.
Crude production has fallen about a third over the past decade from a peak of 3.38 million bpd, while shipments are down nearly 40 percent over the same period.
Pemex expects 2015 crude output to average 2.288 million bpd, down from a previous forecast of 2.4 million bpd.
Mexico’s Congress enacted a sweeping energy reform last year that ended Pemex’s decades-long monopoly of oil production, and allowed the company to enter joint venture partnerships.
The reform aims to boost flagging output by attracting billions of dollars in private investment from the new contracts.
