NGI Mexico GPI

Mexico’s national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) plans to ramp up natural gas production by 50% in the next six years, to reach 5.7 Bcf/d by the end of 2024, CEO Octavio Romero Oropeza forecast on Saturday.

Just one trading day after January natural gas prices took out critical support at the $4 level, the prompt month on Monday set its eyes on $3.50 as weather outlooks indicated it could be after the new year begins before any truly cold air returns to the Lower 48. The Nymex January futures contract settled at $3.528, down 29.9 cents on the day. February tumbled 30 cents to $3.453, and March dropped 29.8 cents to $3.308.

Natural gas futures prices came crashing down Friday as weather models all trended warmer for the rest of December, easing some fears about adequate supplies this winter. The Nymex January futures contract plunged 29.7 cents to $3.827, the first sub-$4 settle for the January contract since Nov. 12. February dropped 27.4 cents to $3.753, and March tumbled 25 cents to $3.606.

The state-centric policies of Mexico’s new government could threaten the autonomy of the country’s energy regulators, according to experts.

While natural gas producers in the Permian and Eagle Ford basins have welcomed the recent completion of pipeline projects on both sides of the US-Mexico border, several projects farther downstream in Mexico still face delays.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who took office Dec. 1, had a tumultuous first week in office, with major implications for the energy sector.

Though hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has transformed the energy sector in the United States, only Argentina in Latin America has followed its lead in commercially developing hydrocarbons through unconventional drilling.

Natural gas traders clearly can’t agree on what the appropriate price for January natural gas should be as prices swung in a nearly 26-cent range before going on to settle a mere penny lower on Thursday.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador affirmed last weekend plans to shift course at state power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE).