ABK..Yes it is.:)
TIDE....Yikes! Hopefully that was capitulation. LOL The day did end with a doji, so maybe tomorrow is up.
Added to BQI @ 5.30s. I want it to go up tomorrow so I can lighten my position somewhat.
Thought this article on Mexico was interesting..
It would appear to me that with the info in this article that BQI would be even more attractive since it looks like there won't be as much oil coming out of Mexico. (Just found this - it was written on the 4th)
Drop in Mexican Crude Threatens Energy Security
04 July 2008 10:09
A steady drop in Mexico's crude oil output is threatening the nation's energy security and means jittery world oil markets cannot look to it for reassurance, Energy Minister Georgina Kessel said Thursday.
As world oil prices shot above $145 a barrel on a mixture of Middle East tensions, speculation and supply worries, Kessel told Reuters Mexico was under more pressure than ever to push through reforms to its struggling state-run energy industry.
"We are seeing that for Mexico, energy security is currently at risk," Kessel said in an interview.
"For the rest of the world, as long as we haven't resolved our problem of energy security, there will be no way that we can contribute to the rest of the world."
Kessel said getting Congress to approve a controversial plan by President Felipe Calderon to change oil laws will be crucial to avoid a plunge in production in the coming years.
Without new exploration and production projects, Mexico's oil output could drop by nearly two-thirds by 2021, she said.
She also said a goal to double Mexico's proved oil reserves replacement rate to 100 percent by 2012 -- meaning every barrel of extracted oil is replaced with a barrel of newly proven reserves -- would be "difficult" to reach.
"Achieving that goal will depend a lot on what we do," Kessel said. "That is why it's so important that the reforms are approved, because we are going to have to be doing an enormous amount of activity in exploration and production."
The world's No. 6 oil producer, Mexico is a top three U.S. crude supplier, and Washington has grown to rely upon it as a reliable and politically stable source of oil.
But a worse-than-expected drop in production since historic peaks in 2004 means state oil monopoly Pemex's exports to the United States have slid by almost a third in just four years.
Mexico's proved oil reserves have also waned to nine years' worth, amid a lack of spending on exploration. Although seismic tests indicate huge deposits of deep-sea crude, none of the six deepwater wells Pemex has drill so far have struck oil.
"WE HAVE A PROBLEM"
The trend also means that Mexico, which relies on foreign oil sales to fund about a third of its federal budget, is losing out on potentially lucrative new markets like China and India where demand for oil is soaring, Kessel said.
"Mexico is losing income and also opportunities," she said. "We've had to cut back exports not just to the United States but also to the rest of the world. We've had to reduce our commitments due to the fall in our production."
Mexico sees its total oil exports dropping to 1.4 million barrels per day in July, down 18 percent on the year and 4.6 percent lower than in June, the finance ministry said on Thursday. In July 2004, Mexico was exporting 1.8 million bpd.
Mexico's oil sales are up in dollar terms, as Mexican crude sells at a record $128 per barrel, but the government says it is losing most of its oil profits by paying a ballooning bill for fuel imports. A shortfall in refining capacity means Mexico must import about 40 percent of its gasoline.
The grim figures come as the conservative government, which lacks a majority in Congress, is trying to persuade opposition parties to back a reform that could spur on new exploration and drilling projects by letting state-run Pemex hire foreign firms under attractive contracts based on incentive fees.
Some leftists have accused Pemex of exaggerating its woes to pressure lawmakers to support the reform proposal, which opponents say smacks of a creeping privatization.
But Kessel said the message from Pemex was the same both for recalcitrant lawmakers and world markets.
"What we are observing is a reality," she said. "We can't give different messages because the reality is a single one. We have a problem in the hydrocarbons sector."
Many analysts fear opposition to the reform plan means the bill will emerge from Congress so watered down as to be largely ineffective. But Kessel said she remained optimistic Congress will pass a bill weighty enough to make a difference.
Kessel also said she had started communications with the U.S. government to seek an agreement on cross-border oil fields that span the maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico, amid fears that U.S. oil firms could inadvertently suck up Mexican oil when a treaty banning drilling in the area runs out in 2011.
By Catherine Bremer, Reuters
offshore-technology.com |
