South America / GoM
Country profile: Mexico
Location: | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US |
Climate: | varies from tropical to desert |
Terrain: | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Size: | 1972550 sq. km total (Land area: 1923040 sq. km Water area: 49510 sq.km) |
Population: | 109,955,400 (July 2008 est.) |
Languages: | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
Government: | federal republic |
Capital city: | Mexico |
Legal system: | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Currency: | Mexican peso (MXN) |
Licensing: |
Country profile
In 2006, Mexico was the sixth-largest oil producer in the world, and the second largest in the Western Hemisphere (behind the United States). State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) holds a monopoly on oil production in the country and is one of the largest oil companies in the world. However, oil production in the country has begun to decrease, as production at the giant Cantarell field declines. The oil sector is a crucial component of Mexico’s economy: while its relative importance to the general Mexican economy has declined, the oil sector still generates over 10 percent of the country’s export earnings. More importantly, the government relies upon earnings from the oil industry (including taxes and direct payments from Pemex) for one-third of total government revenues.
Therefore, any decline in production at Pemex has a direct effect upon the country’s overall fiscal balance. Mexico’s total energy consumption in 2005 consisted mostly of oil (59 percent), followed by natural gas (27 percent). All other fuel types contribute smaller amounts to Mexico’s overall energy mix. Natural gas is increasingly replacing oil as a feedstock in power generation, due in part to the high level of world oil prices. However, Mexico is a net importer of natural gas, so higher levels of natural gas consumption will depend upon increased domestic production or imports from either the United States or via liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Energy production and consumption
Oil | Gas | |
Production: | 3 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 41 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
Consumption: | 2 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 47 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
Exports: | 2 million bbl/day (2004 est.) | 282 million cu m (2005 est.) |
Imports: | 308,500 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 9 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
Reserves: | 14 billion bbl (2007 est.) | 434 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
Major fields: |
Mexico - recent news
14 Mar 24 |
Mexico: Subsea7 awarded contract offshore Mexico Subsea7 has announced the award of a large contract by Woodside Energy to provide subsea installation services for the Trion development. The project, which Woodside and Pemex are developing in partnership, is located approx. 30 kms south of the US / Mexico border and 180 kms away from the Mexican coastline, at a water depth of 2,600 metres. |
14 Mar 24 |
Mexico: Vestas wins order from Sempra infrastructure to build a 319 MW wind farm in Mexico Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra, has placed a 319 MW order for the Cimarron wind farm in Tecate, in the state of Baja California, Mexico. This is the third phase of the Energia Sierra Juarez Wind Complex that will have a total installed capacity of 582 MW. |
26 Feb 24 |
Mexico: Dril-Quip secures key role in Woodside Trion development Dril-Quip, a global leader in offshore drilling solutions, has been chosen to supply the subsea wellhead systems for the Woodside Trion development offshore Mexico. The Trion project, a greenfield deepwater development, includes 24 wells across two phases. |
14 Feb 24 |
Mexico: Woodside receives Social Impact Assessment approval for Trion project Woodside has announced that the Trion oil and gas project has received approval for its Social Impact Assessment from the Mexican Ministry for Energy. Trion is a greenfield development that would represent the first oil production from Mexico’s deepwater. It is located in the Gulf of Mexico at a water depth of 2,500m, and is being developed by Woodside Energy in a joint venture with PEMEX. First oil is targeted for 2028. |
09 Jan 24 |
Mexico: Wood wins detailed engineering design for Trion project in Gulf of Mexico Wood has secured a contract from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for detailed engineering of the topsides facilities on Woodside Energy's Trion Floating Production Unit (FPU) in Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico. When complete, Trion will have a production capacity of 100,000 barrels per day and connect to a 950,000 barrel capacity floating storage and offloading vessel. |
Mexico - more news
Other countries in this region
- Argentina,
- Aruba,
- Bahamas,
- Barbados,
- Belize,
- Bermuda,
- Bolivia,
- Brazil,
- Canada,
- Chile,
- Colombia,
- Costa Rica,
- Cuba,
- Dominican Republic,
- Ecuador,
- Falklands,
- French Guiana,
- Grenada,
- Guatemala,
- Gulf of Mexico,
- Guyana,
- Honduras,
- Jamaica,
- Nicaragua,
- Panama,
- Paraguay,
- Peru,
- Suriname,
- Trinidad,
- Uruguay,
- USA,
- Venezuela