Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Mar. 6 -- Petroleos Mexicanos saw a decline in profits during 2007, reporting a decrease of some 16.13 billion pesos ($1.51 billion) after posting a net profit of $4.26 billion in 2006, according to media reports.
El Financiero, citing company figures, said Pemex posted the loss even though its total sales increased 2.9% over 2006 and hit an all-time high of $110 billion in 2007.
Pemex explained the loss as due primarily to purchases of imports such as gasoline, natural gas, LPG, and petrochemicals—all of which came to $16.97 billion.
Pemex also paid $63.15 billion in taxes to the federal government, up 11.8% from its 2006 tax total. Before taxes, the company posted profits of $61.63 billion.
In its 2007 financial report, Pemex said imports of oil products increased to 494,000 b/d from 431,000 b/d. The main import was gasoline, with the amount rising to 307,700 b/d in 2007 from 204,700 b/d in 2006.
These imports were up because fuel demand was higher and domestic production lower. Production averaged 1.511 million b/d in 2007, a decline of 34,000 b/d from 2006.
By contrast, natural gas imports averaged 397 bcfd, down 12% from 2006, mainly as a result of higher domestic gas production—up 13.1% over 2006 at 6.058 bcfd on average.
The country's oil production in 2007, however, dropped 5.3% from 2006, to 3.082 million b/d, due to the decline of Cantarell, to deferred output because of Hurricane Dean, and to several bouts of cold weather during the year.
Exports of oil averaged 1.686 million b/d in 2007, down 5.9% from 2006. The value of oil and condensate exports hit $44.39 billion, as the average price of the Mexican mix on the international market was $61.60/bbl.
El Financiero, quoting Pemex, said the drop in production was partially offset by an increase in the extraction of superlight oil from the Tabasco "Activo Litoral" and record output from Ku-Maloob-Zaap field.
Pemex also attributed higher output from the Lankahuasa, Burgos, and Veracruz projects, and gas extraction from the Marine light crude and Ixtal-Manik projects in the Southwest Marine region and higher output from wells in the Northeast Marine region.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
