Production Down for 2006
Mexico'sstate-owned oil monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, reported onTuesday that full-year sales revenue for 2006 rose 10 percent to arecord 1.058 trillion pesos ($98 billion).
While oil productionwas down, due to declining output at Mexico's flagship Cantarell field,sales increased because of higher per-barrel prices for oil during theyear.
In a news release, Pemexsaid its domestic sales revenues in 2006 rose 4 percent from 2005,while exports rose 16 percent. The company had crude oil productionlast year of 3.26 million barrels per day, of which it exported anaverage of 1.79 million. That was down from production of 3.33 millionbarrels per day in 2005, of which 1.82 million were exported.
The average price of Mexico's crude oil was higher in 2006 -- $53.04 a barrel -- than the $42.71 per barrel it brought in 2005.
Pemexdid produce a record amount of natural gas in 2006, with output up to5.356 billion cubic feet a day from 4.818 billion in 2005.
Pemexsaid its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation andamortization, or Ebitda, rose 26 percent last year to 782 billion pesos($72.4 billion), and the company was left with a net profit of 42.5billion pesos ($3.94 billion). Pemex, which pays most of its earningsto the federal government, said its tax burden fell last year to 55percent of sales, compared with 63 percent of sales in 2005.
