Mexico Will Keep Oil State-Owned, President Calderon Says

Mexico will keep its oil industry state-owned as government-held oil company Petroleos Mexicanos successfully stemmed output declines in aging fields, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said.

Pemex will invest about 300 billion pesos ($23.7 billion) this year and has stemmed declines at its flagship Cantarell field, Calderon told workers in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, during a ceremony to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the nation’s expropriation of foreign oil assets.

Crude output will rise for the first time since 2004 and may return to historical levels of 3 million barrels a day, Pemex Chief Executive Officer Juan Jose Suarez Coppel said.

“I’m very proud that Pemex has retaken the route to once again become a world-class company,” Calderon said. “Oil will continue to be, exclusively for, the Mexican people.”

Pemex, the world’s third-largest oil producer, expects output from its aging Cantarell field to gain this year, allowing the state-owned company to boost production for the first time in eight years.

To contact the reporters on this story: Carlos Manuel Rodriguez in Mexico City at carlosmr@bloomberg.net; Matt Craze in Santiago at mcraze@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sylvia Wier at swier@bloomberg.net