Mexico energy giant reports huge loss on lower exports, prices

Special
Report: Global Financial Crisis

MEXICO CITY, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's state-run energy giant Petroleos
Mexicanos (Pemex) on Monday reported a net loss of 27 billion pesos (about 2.04
billion U.S. dollars) during the first quarter, due to lower oil prices and a
lower volume of exports.

"Exports were 1.2 million barrels a day, 14.6 percent lower than last year
due to lower crude prices," said Esteban Levin Bacells, Pemex's chief financial
officer, on a conference call with bank analysts.

"Total sales were down nearly 30 percent due to lower crude prices and
export volumes. Domestic sales also declined due to reduced natural gas demand,"
he said.

During the same quarter of 2008, the firm had exported nearly 1.5 million
barrels a day (bpd) of crude oil. Oil prices averaged around 38.92 dollars per
barrel during the first quarter, compared with 83.94 dollars during the first
quarter of 2008, a decline of around 54 percent.

Compared with the same period in 2008, Pemex produced 7.8 percent less
crude oil during the first quarter of 2009 due to the declining production of
Mexico's former main field Cantarell.

During the first quarter of 2009, Cantarell has an average daily output of
787,000 barrels while the number was 1.2 million during the same quarter of 2008
and 2.1 million bpd at during its peak quarter in 2005.