In the southeast of Mexico, the largest oil reserves of the past 30 years have apparently been discovered. The Quesqui field in the Tabasco state on the Gulf Coast has confirmed and potential reserves equivalent to 500 million barrels (about 7,950 million liters) of crude oil, state energy company Pemex announced on Friday.
In two years, up to 100,000 barrels of oil could be pumped there daily, said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on a tour. "The oil industry is fundamental to the development of Mexico."
According to Pemex boss Octavio Romero, the first drilling on the Quesqui field was made in June. Currently, they are producing 4,500 barrels a day there. In the coming year, 69,000 barrels per day are to be pumped on the 34 square kilometer area - and by 2021 even 110,000 barrels a day.
The Mexican government hopes that the discovery of the oil field will be able to reverse the trend. Due to a lack of investment in modern technology, oil production in the Latin American country has been steady for 14 years. While 2004 was still 3.4 million barrels a day in Mexico, it was only 1.7 million barrels a day.
The OPEC and other producing countries, such as Russia and Mexico, had announced this week that they would continue to cut back global oil production. With such measures, the 24 so-called OPEC + states are trying to push up the oil price. However, since Mexico's production volumes were below the set limit anyway, the country is not affected.