NGI Mexico GPI

2018 was a momentous year for Mexico’s energy sector, and could very well define hydrocarbon production and distribution in the country for the foreseeable future. Although there is much to pick from, NGI’s Mexico GPI has narrowed down the major Mexican natural gas trends for 2018 to five:

As expected, February natural gas shed some serious holiday weight on Friday as weather data backed off some of the cold that was seen in early January and failed to show with certainty just when truly bone-chilling conditions would return. The Nymex February gas futures contract plunged 24.3 cents to settle at $3.303. March lost 20.5 cents to hit $3.148.

Another day, another wide trading range for natural gas futures prices, which ended Thursday’s session higher after unrelenting volatility. After dropping as low as $3.441, the Nymex January gas futures contract expired 9.9 cents higher at $3.642. The February contract edged up 8.8 cents to $3.546, and March rose 7 cents to $3.353.

Latin America’s oil and gas industry has a stable outlook for 2019, Moody’s Investors Services said in a new report, although the ratings agency is warning of negative investment momentum in Mexico’s oil and gas based on the energy policy of new President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Mexico’s Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE) will lay off 367 temporary employees, or 60% of its total workforce, by the end of this month, multiple commissioners and employees have confirmed.

Mexico’s government has called on the military to fight the growing problem of gasoline theft at national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) by organized criminals, president Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced Thursday.

Mexico’s Sonora state governor has signed a nonbinding agreement with U.S. counterparts in Arizona and New Mexico to interconnect existing natural gas pipelines allowing shipments from New Mexico’s San Juan Basin to flow to a proposed export terminal on the Gulf of California in Mexico.

Mark Twain’s famous quip, that “The report of my death was an exaggeration,” could well apply to Mexico’s energy reform.

It was a bumpy road for January natural gas on Wednesday as thin trading after the Christmas holiday made for a volatile session before the prompt month eventually settled higher day/day. The Nymex January gas futures contract rose 7.6 cents to $3.543. Both the February and March contracts were up less than a nickel.