The new Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has announced that it is part of his administration’s strategy that Mexico, specifically Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), will achieve higher production levels of crude oil. During this month, Pemex will begin additional exploration in areas that have already been established as having strong oil reserves and oil rig sites that have declined in production below capacity levels will be reevaluated for reactivation or increased capacity utilization.
According to Pemex data, in October the firm reached 764 million barrels of crude oil production daily. According to Obrador, his administration wants to set a goal for Pemex of 2.4 million barrels of crude oil production daily by 2024. The objective to increase exploration and crude oil output will increase demand for OCTG and other steel products.
Due to Obrador’s previous criticism of foreign investments in Mexico’s oil exploration, the plan for auctions, which would allow participation by foreign firms, is presently unclear.