Re: SC36

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=40538

Mexico's Oil Output Cools

Daily output at Mexico's biggest oil field tumbled by half a million barrels last year, according to figures released Friday by the Mexican government. The ongoing decline at the Cantarell field could pressure prices on the global oil market, complicate U.S. efforts to diversify its oil imports away from the Middle East, and threaten Mexico's financial stability.

The virtual collapse at Cantarell -- the world's second-biggest oil field in terms of output at the start of last year -- is unfolding much faster than projections from Mexico's state-run oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex. Cantarell's daily output fell to 1.5 million barrels in December compared to 1.99 million barrels in January, according to figures from the Mexican Energy Ministry.

Mexico made up for some of the field's decline. Mexico's overall oil output fell to just below three million barrels a day in December, down from almost 3.4 million barrels at the start of the year. It marked Mexico's lowest rate of oil output since 2000.

Mexico's troubles at Cantarell mirror the larger problems in the global oil market. Many of the world's biggest fields are old and face decline, which can be sharp and sudden. Like other big producers, Mexico is struggling to make up the difference because new big fields are in harder-to-reach places like the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

..."This is bad news for Mexico. The field is declining faster than even the government's pessimistic scenarios," says David Shields, an oil industry consultant in Mexico City who has been warning about Cantarell's collapse for the past two years...........

..........Unless Mexico drastically curtails their domestic consumption, at the projected decline rate, Mexico will effectively cease to be a net oil exporter by the end of 2008, just in time for the US presidential elections..................

Similiar senarios are playing out around the world in the majority of the really big oil fields. Mexico is a major supplier of US imported Oil, so is Venezuala. Hugo Chavez is in the process of developing the means to ship his oil to other countries, and not to the US. So is it really hard to fathom, why Bush is bent on setting up shop in the middle east region of huge oil reserves. The point is however, he has set up this huge charade, in order to essentially steal the oil, according to any sensible moral standard of human conduct. Is it any wonder then that most of the other countries of the world, and its people, see the moves of this administration as being the conquest of empire run amock. These acts, what do they really teach our American Children about who we really are as a people. The American Citizens must make it known, by actions and deeds, that we expect higher standards of accomplishment and character from those in political positions of government. When the citizens become to pre-occupied, and don't bother to be engaged, then people like Bush and Cheney find it all to easy to pursue thier evil deeds.