Mexico City — Mexico increased its oil and gas reserves, but they will last less time, according to the most recent report published by the regulatory authority, the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH).
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The country’s proven reserves or 1P of crude oil equivalent, which include gas and oil, will last 8.7 years, below the 8.9 years recorded as of January 1, 2023, and the same pattern occurs with the rest of the reserves with lower probability of extraction, known as 2P and 3P.
The shorter time is observed despite the fact that Mexico reported a reserve restitution rate of 122% compared to 116% for the year.
| RESERVES-PRODUCTION RATIO (YEARS) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 P | 8.5 | 9.3 | 8.8 | 9.3 | 8.9 | 8.7 |
| 2 P | 17.1 | 18.3 | 16.8 | 17.5 | 16.6 | 16.2 |
| 3P | 27.1 | 26.5 | 25.2 | 25.8 | 25.3 | 24.1 |
Mexico’s total production was 961 million barrels, while proven oil and gas reserves stand at 8.4 billion barrels.
Proven hydrocarbon reserves are the most important because they support the investment projects of oil companies. Their probability of extracting them for commercialization is at least 90%, while the 2P and 3P reserves have a probability of extraction of 50 and 10%, respectively.
AMLO, as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is known, has concentrated his energy policy on the rescue of the state company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) through capital injections, reduction of the tax burden, even absorbing the company’s financial debt. These supports are estimated at US$70,000 million.
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Pemex and private oil companies in Mexico extract 1.8 million barrels per day, a figure that is subtracted from reserves, but is offset by discoveries and additions of reserves.
Agustín Díaz Lastra, president commissioner of the CNH, said that the drop in reserves coincides with the large issuances of financial debt by Pemex that exceeded US$100,000 million during the six-year term of Enrique Peña Nieto, and as a consequence by foreign investors, brought methodologies more rigorous to account for them, which were adjusted downwards starting in 2015 and 2016.
