Petroleos Mexicanos, Mexico's state-run oil producer also known as Pemex, may consider selling shares to the public in an effort to raise cash and stem the tide of declining production. Mexican President Felipe Calderon plans to present legislation to Mexico's congress later this year that would set the stage for a share sale.
Calderon is seeking to remake Pemex along the same lines as Petrobras (PBR), Brazil's state-run oil producer, according to Bloomberg News. Pemex is Latin America's largest oil company and Mexico is the region's largest oil producer, but production there has been declining due to maturing fields and a lack of infrastructure investment.
Production fell to 2.576 million barrels a day in 2010, from a daily average of 3.4 million when Calderon was energy minister in 2004, Bloomberg reported. Pemex is planning to spend $23 billion as it attempts to boost output. In February, Mexico was the third-largest exporter of crude to the U.S. behind Canada and Saudi Arabia, sending 998,000 barrels per day north of the border.
Other examples of state-run oil producers Pemex could fashion itself after include Norway's Statoil (STO), that country's largest oil producer, and Colombia's (EC).
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