Mexico: Oil Depletion & Illegal US Immigration (running out of oil)

[Gloria]

From the new World Media Watch up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com

More stories in my Journal



3//Worldpress.org, US April 25, 2006

http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/2326.cfm



MEXICO: OIL DEPLETION AND ILLEGAL U.S. IMMIGRATION

Worldpress.org

Mexico's oil industry is, in large part, a direct reflection of the country's economic well-being. As those who have been following global oil output are aware, production in Mexico has started to wane, and just might decline very rapidly. Since the Mexican federal budget depends very heavily on oil revenues, the country may be faced with some tough times ahead, leading to increased pressures among its citizens to migrate north into the U.S.



The giant Cantarell oil field lies deep under the water of the Gulf of Mexico. But in financial terms it stands astride the entire nation of Mexico. Since its discovery in 1976, it has been the mainstay of the country's oil production, accounting for nearly 60 percent of total production of over 3.3 million barrels of oil per day.



Sixty percent is also the cut that the Mexican government takes from the revenues of the state oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), in taxes every year. Suffice it to say that the government relies heavily on oil production to support the economy.



Making for a potentially precarious situation, Mexico's energy sector lacks diversification and is thus very vulnerable to sudden fluctuations in production. Some industry experts have predicted that the country could run out of oil in the next 11 years, if discoveries do not materialize.

MORE

[brokensymmetry]

1. Good post!

Yes - as Cantarell declines, the desperation of the poor in Mexico will increase.
Whatever issues the two nations presently face will be worse - and soon.

I think things are going to get interesting; not pleasant, just interesting.

[Change has come]

2. Could be the REAL reason behind...

The sudden need for a wall?

[brokensymmetry]

6. Could well be.

Between climate change and more expensive fertilizers...along with the possibility
of global recession due to energy costs...we might see some serious problems in
the world. What happens if, instead of 12,000,000 illegal immigrants, we were
faced with ten times that number trying to get in? What if they were utterly
desperate?

I do not ask the question lightly. Rather, I fully expect to see this
problem - and not in the distant future.

[hughee99]

3. Didn't Mexico just find an oil reserve

that's supposed to be even bigger than Cantarell?

[Gloria]

4. It's in the article....but....it will take many years and lots of money

to develop it--

"Increasingly, news reports are filtering out that the largest, most indispensable oil field might have already seen its best days. According to Venezuela's Daily Journal (March 30): "Pemex is now seeking to replace output at Cantarell, which contained 35 billion barrels of oil when discovered in 1976. The field peaked in production at more than 2 million barrels a day in 2005 and will decline by 30 percent to 1.43 million barrels per day by the end of 2008, Pemex has forecast. Only Saudi Arabia's Ghawar field is larger. … 'It's hard to compensate for a super giant field with something much less than a super giant field,' said David Shields, an independent energy industry analyst in Mexico City."


From a source inside Pemex, Vive Le Canada (March 26) reported: "According to Carlos Morales, production manager for Mexico's state owned oil company, Cantarell's projected output will be 6 percent lower this year at 1.9 million barrels per day and down to 1.43 million barrels by 2008, the level of production in 2000. A leaked internal memo from inside Pemex said water and gas were seeping into the massive offshore oil field."

SNIP

"Some oil industry experts warned that oil production at the new site could take up to a decade to be realized due to technical obstacles alone, not to mention the current legal and financial restrictions that Pemex faces in developing this and other fields. So, while the discovery of the new oil reserves is good news for Mexico, it will not affect global markets in the short or medium term."

[Gloria]

5. kick for overnight

[radwriter0555]

7. LOL! Mexico isn't running out of oil any time in the next few centuries..

Just more hype from the peak oil mythologists.