Mexico City.– For the availability and production of hydrocarbons in the country to be maintained, it is essential to resume imports in exploration activities, experts consider.
Héctor Moreira, commissioner of the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH), said that investments have been made in production activities, but that those related to exploration, which are necessary, have been left aside.
“Yes, we have investment in production, but we need to invest in more exploration. There are more and more projects that require an alliance, if you want one, you only achieve the conditions to develop together with another, and that is why we need to have more investment “, he noted at the “Energy of Mexico 2024” forum, organized by S&P Global. Gustavo Baquero, general director of Harbor Energy, considered that it is necessary to seek collaboration between private companies and Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) for the development of new hydrocarbon exploration and production projects.
However, he said, it is essential that it is first resolved that two of the largest fields already begin production, which are Zama and Trión.
“Here there are two very large elephants and we must find a strategy to hunt them first (before other investments), which are Zama and Trión, those two projects alone will give 300 thousand barrels per day to Mexico, I understand that we have to look for small fields here and there, but first those two have to move forward. (That’s why) the necessary decisions must be made in the coming months for these investments to come,” he pointed out. In 2019, at the beginning of the Administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the oil rounds that had already achieved three emissions were canceled, which had the purpose of assigning areas to Pemex and private companies for exploration and possible production according to the results obtained. Fluvio Ruíz, independent analyst of the oil sector, commented that if what is sought is to continue using the country’s refineries but in a more efficient way, it is necessary to have light oil so that they operate optimally. The expert indicated that the possibilities of Mexico importing crude oil with a lower amount of API degrees must be analyzed and thus make fuel production more efficient in the national refining system (SNR). “We will most likely have to think about importing oil to make the SNR more efficient. The quality of the diet they are fed is no longer adequate for what they were designed for,” he said. In Mexico, heavy oils are mainly produced, but Mexican refineries are designed to work with light crude oil, which makes operation in the complexes difficult and a greater quantity of lower value oil products such as fuel oil is generated. Last September, Reforma published that Pemex recorded significant production levels, but of fuel oil, in some months even higher than gasoline production.
#urgent #return #investments #hydrocarbon #exploration