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By KELIN DILLON

As Mexico continues to invest in national oil production with the continued construction of state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos’ (Pemex) Dos Bocas Refinery, new data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that Mexico has experienced the largest drop in oil production of any country in the world – including, but not exclusive to Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members – during recent months.

According to the IEA’s “Oil 2024, Analysis and Forecast to 2040” report, Pemex has only produced an average of 1.5 million barrels of oil per day since February 2024.

“Mexico’s long-term decline in oil production showed a brief respite between 2021 and 2023 as the Quesqui Oil and Gas Field ramped up to peak production,” read the report. “The sector has been floundering since the pandemic when Pemex severely restricted investments. Since then, the state-owned operator has had to deal with a continuing series of serious incidents with its offshore platforms, undermining the public’s and its partners’ confidence.”

The IEA also highlighted that the majority of Pemex’s oil is concentrated in just seven out of its 240 active oil fields, a factor unexpected to change considering Pemex has no public plans for future project expansion as its mature oil fields decline in production.

“The fall in crude oil is evident; since May 2023, crude oil production has been on record as declining, which is explained by the fact that the main fields on which oil production is based are declining at a faster rate than new ones can be incorporated,” continued the IEA. “In addition, Petróleos Mexicanos has faced technological challenges, such as the depths at which they are exploring or tenders that have not managed to place drilling equipment.”

The report went on to note that North America’s overall oil demand is expected to decline in coming years from an average of 24.6 million barrels per day between 2024 and 2025 to 23 million per day in 2030.