Estrategias docentes

2.2.1 Crude oil

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Mexico had 10.4 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of January 2010. Most reserves consist of heavy crude oil varieties. The largest concentration of remaining reserves has been detected offshore in the southern part of the country, especially in the Campeche basin (see Figure 2-1).

country (Figure 2-1; EIA, 2010). Most of Mexico‘s oil production takes place in the Gulf of Campeche, located off the south-eastern coast of the country in the Gulf of Mexico (see Figure 2-1). This area accounted for 80% of Mexico‘s total crude oil production (EIA, 2010; Villasenor et al., 2003). Other important production sites are concentrated onshore basins in the northern and southern parts of the country (EIA, 2010).

There are currently six refineries in Mexico, all operated by PEMEX, with a total refining capacity of 1.68 million bbl/d (EIA, 2007; Marín-Sánchez, and Rodríguez- Toral, 2007). These refineries are: (i) Salamanca and Tula (located in the central area of the country, in Guanajuato and Hidalgo states, respectively); (ii) Cadereyta and Madero (located in the northeast part, in Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas states, respectively); (iii) Minatitlán (located in the south part of the Gulf of Mexico, in Veracruz province); and (iv) Salina Cruz (located in the south pacific part of the country, in Oaxaca state (for the location of these refineries, see Figure 2-3).

Atmospheric distillation accounts for the highest capacity process followed by vacuum distillation, reforming, catalytic and thermal cracking, hydrodesulphurization, visbreaking and natural gas liquids fractionating (IAEA, 2005). PEMEX also controls 50% of the 334,000-bbl/d capacity of Deer Park refinery in Texas (EIA, 2007).

PEMEX operates an extensive pipeline network in Mexico that connects major production centres with domestic refineries and export terminals. This network consists of over 453 pipelines spanning 4667 km, with the largest concentration of pipelines in the southern part of the country. There are no international pipeline connections so that most of exports leave from the country via tanker using three export terminals located in the southern part of the country: Cayo Arcas, Dos Bocas, and Coatzacoalcos (EIA, 2010).

Many analysts believe that Mexican oil production has peaked, and that it will decline in the coming years (e.g. Shields, 2003; Bazán-Perkins and Fernández-Zayas, 2008; Posma and Jonca, 2007; Reyes-Loya and Blanco, 2008; EIA, 2010). This decline is mainly driven by the production falling recorded at the super-giant Cantarell oil field, which is located in the Gulf of Campeche (see Figure 2-1). In 2006, 1.8 million bbl/d of crude oil were extracted from Cantarell which represented 55% of the national total production (EIA, 2007; Posma and Jonca, 2007; Reyes-Loya and Blanco, 2008), while in 2009, Cantarell‘s production fell to 630,000 bbl/d (EIA, 2010).

According to internal reports and based on previous annual productions, Mexico‘s oil proven reserves/production ratio has decreased from 13 years in 2002 to nine years in 2008 (PEMEX, 2008). Analysts believe that PEMEX does not have sufficient funds available for exploration and investment to reverse the decline, owing to the larger amount of its revenues that the company transfers to the federal government (Shields, 2003; EIA, 2007; Reyes-Loya and Blanco, 2008). In 2008, the Mexican federal government proposed a new legislation to reform the country‘s oil sector, to increase current oil production. Among the most important changes, it is the fiscal reorganization

of PEMEX to facilitate further technological investments for exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons (Posma and Jonca, 2007; SENER, 2008b; EIA, 2010).

2.2.2 Natural gas

According to EIA (2010), Mexico had 373.8 billion m3 of proven natural gas reserves as of January 2010. The largest share of proven reserves is stored in the southern region of the country. However, the northern region is likely to be the most promising site for increasing the natural gas reserves, since it contains almost ten times as much probable and possible natural gas reserves as the southern region.

Mexico‘s natural gas production is spread throughout the country. Onshore fields in the northern part of the country represent 38% of Mexico‘s natural gas production, while onshore fields in the south contribute 21%, and offshore fields in the Gulf of Campeche represent the remainder. In 2008, Mexico produced 52.1 billion m3 of natural gas, while consuming 66.8 billion m3, with imports coming mainly via pipeline from the U.S. (EIA, 2010).

PEMEX operates over 9,173 km of natural gas pipelines in Mexico. The company has twelve natural gas processing centres with a liquids extraction capacity of 167 million m3 per day (EIA, 2010). The Mexican gas processing system includes sweetening, cryogenic process, condensates sweetening, sulphur recuperation, fractionating and absorption plants (IAEA, 2005). PEMEX also operates most of the country‘s natural gas distribution network, which supplies processed natural gas to consumption centres. The natural gas pipeline network includes ten active import connections with the U.S. (EIA, 2010).

2.2.3 Coal

The coal reserves in Mexico are estimated to be ~663 million of tonnes (IAEA, 2005), which are distributed in four coal basins located in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca and Sonora (see Figure 2-1). Most of the thermal coal reserves are stored in the basin Villa de Fuentes-Río Escondido, Coahuila. This coal basin is located in the northeast region of Coahuila state, and it has been exploited through several opencast

mines and underground mines. The proven reserves of coal have been quantified in 65 million tonnes of opencast mines, and 470 million tonnes of underground mines. The coal of this basin is characterised as bituminous coal (IAEA, 2005).

In Mexico, there are currently four coal plants which together provide a total installed capacity of 3.5 million tonnes (of coal (SENER, 2006a).

2.3

Alternative energy sources: current status and the