Mexico's
Cantarell oil output inches up in March
Reuters
MEXICO
CITY
Petroleumworld.com
04 27 07
Crude oil output at Mexico's huge-but-declining
Cantarell oil field rose slightly in March to an average of 1.585
million barrels per day (bpd), energy ministry data showed on Thursday.
The field, closely watched by energy analysts after a couple of
sharp dips in production in recent months, produced 1.567 million
bpd in February.
Amid worries the field's decline is worse than first feared, state-run
oil monopoly Pemex last month forecast oil output at Cantarell would
average 1.526 million bpd over 2007, down 15 percent from the 2006
level.
Pemex is racing to pump oil faster from newer fields such as Ku
Maloob Zaap and Chicontepec, but analysts worry those projects will
not be enough to make up for Cantarell, the world's biggest offshore
oil field.
Cantarell now provides about half Mexico's total oil output, down
from about 60 percent in past years.
Mexico is the world's No. 5 oil producer by volume and a top-three
supplier to the United States.
Reuters 26
04 07
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