Mexico’s energy ministry announced on January 25th that the non-OPEC producer would maintain crude exports for February at 1.75 million b/d.
The ministry said that the decision to maintain production levels is in response to seasonally declining crude demand that “requires an adjustment in supply to maintain balance in the market.”
Mexico had weighed whether to cut production in conjunction with OPEC after the group had voted on January 17th to slash output by 1.5 million b/d.
The North American producer had worked closely with Saudi Arabia and Venezuela to secure agreements among OPEC and non-OPEC producers leading to a recovery from the oil price collapse in 1998.
The Mexican energy ministry said in a statement that: “The government of Mexico will continue to analyze the evolution of the international oil market and will maintain close dialogue with the main crude producing countries.”
Norway, which had also cooperated with OPEC on increasing and reducing production in the past, indicated prior to the decision that the time was not yet ripe for it to cut production, but that Oslo would continue to monitor oil market fundamentals.
State oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) had exported 1.75 million b/d in December, although the company’s exports dipped below that level in October and November 2000. The government’s 2001 budget assumes a crude export level of 1.82 million b/d, reflecting recently increased production capacity.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
