Energy Minister - Mexican Oil Output May Fall To As Little As 2.6 Million b/d In 2009 - Bloomberg

ug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Mexico may pump as little as 2.6 million barrels a day of oil this year amid declines at the country’s largest field, Energy Minister Georgina Kessel said. Production will be between 2.6 million barrels and 2.7 million barrels, Kessel said today in an interview in Mexico City. State-owned producer Petroleos Mexicanos on July 30 cut its production forecast to 2.65 million barrels a day for this year, from an earlier estimate of as much as 2.8 million.

Mexico’s output is slumping as production at Cantarell, the company’s largest field, drops at a rate twice as fast as forecast by Pemex, as the company is known. Last year, production slumped at the fastest rate since 1942.

The drop may cost the Mexican government 300 billion pesos ($23.1 billion) in lost sales this year and could lead the country to have a budget deficit in 2010, Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said yesterday.

Oil above $70 a barrel is enough to support the exploration projects Pemex has planned to boost output, according to Kessel. “Pemex needs to maintain its current levels of investment to develop its reserves,” Kessel said. “Prices above $70 to $75 a barrel are appropriate to help develop those projects.”

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