Peak Oil? For Mexico, Yes -- April 3, 2017

Three comments regarding the linked article sent to me by a reader (thank you, very much):

• my understanding is that reserves are related to the price of oil; one wonders whether that is true with regard to this article;
• this is not a new story; a quick google search reveals that this has been an under-reported story for quite some time
• the "9 years" is an interesting time frame; "9 years" is also the time frame in which Saudi's cash reserves could be depleted if the price of oil doesn't trend significantly higher, significantly sooner than later

So, here are the data points from SRSroccoReport:

• Mexico's existing oil reserves are dwindling so quickly that the country could "go dry" within nine years without new discoveries
• Mexico's reserves fell almost 11% in 2016
• once the world's largest crude oil producer, Mexico's proven reserves have declined every year since 2013
• the cause: record-low drilling activity for the past 3 years
• crude production has declined every year since 2004
• production will fall below 2 million bopd this year, the lowest levels since 1980

Two immediate problems for Mexico (similar to Saudi Arabia but for different reasons): a) less oil being produced on a daily basis; b) price of oil is low, could go lower.

***************************

Deep Water to Challenge Shale

Link here at Oilprice.com.

Shell is boasting future profitability at $15 a barrel from its Mars platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The company is adopting drilling techniques from smaller, independent energy firms, which have left the Gulf after finding themselves unable to withstand the investment pressure, and is also transforming its corporate structure, which has already borne fruit.