Quota Problem Is Still Actual In Mexico

Ernesto Martens, Mexico's Energy Minister, said the country will continue to limit its crude oil exports.

Mexico will hold exports to 1.66 million in coordination with OPEC. "Inventories are actually very healthy. Demand does not appear to be picking up as would have been desired," Martens said in a statement. "Consequently we will be calmly studying the market over the coming weeks, though we feel for the moment that maintaining the current (export) platform would be the right thing to do," he said. In June Mexico kept close to its export quota of 1.66 bpd. Pemex said crude exports in June averaged 1.681 million bpd, slightly above the export ceiling and also above the 1.661 million bpd average from May.

When OPEC decided to slash exports by 1.5 million bpd from January to boost the limping oil prices of late 2001 following the Sept 11 attacks in the United States, Mexico and other independent producers cooperated by cutting exports as well. Early in January, Mexico announced it would stick to a ceiling of 1.56 million bpd but never actually kept within that target and more recently has backed away from that figure. In June, after OPEC opted to keep the curbs in place, Mexico said it would continue during the third quarter of 2002 with its crude oil export platform of 1.66 million bpd. Martens did not indicate how long the limits would stay in place.

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