Mexico Oil Production Today | Oil Production Live

Current production

~1.7M bbl/day

barrels per day

World share

~2%

of global output

Proven reserves

~6 billion barrels

barrels

OPEC member

No

About Mexico oil production

The Cautionary Tale of Pemex and the Cantarell Collapse

Mexico was once one of the top five oil producers in the world and a nation whose entire modern economic history has been shaped by petroleum — yet it now sits outside the top ten, its production having declined dramatically from a peak of over 3.4 million barrels per day in 2004 to approximately 1.7 million today. The story of Mexican oil is a cautionary tale about the consequences of treating a state oil company as a government revenue source rather than an energy business.

Pemex — Petróleos Mexicanos — has been the sole operator of Mexican oil production since nationalization in 1938, when President Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated foreign oil companies in a move celebrated as a defining moment of Mexican sovereignty. For decades Pemex funded a substantial portion of the Mexican federal budget — at times contributing over 40 percent of government revenue — creating a situation where the company was taxed so heavily it had little capital left for reinvestment.

The Cantarell field in the Bay of Campeche was once one of the largest oil fields in the world and the foundation of Mexican production, but its output has collapsed from over 2 million barrels per day at peak to under 100,000 today — one of the most dramatic production declines in history. The Ku-Maloob-Zaap complex in the same Bay of Campeche region became the primary producing area after Cantarell's decline but is itself now in decline.

Mexico partially opened its energy sector to private investment in 2014 but a subsequent government reversed course and has sought to strengthen Pemex's monopoly position despite the company's severe financial difficulties. Pemex carries over 100 billion dollars in debt — one of the highest debt loads of any oil company in the world — severely limiting its ability to invest in the exploration and development needed to reverse production decline.

Quick Facts

Mexico

Production	~1.7 million bbl/day
World share	~2%
Primary regions	Bay of Campeche offshore — Ku-Maloob-Zaap complex
National oil company	Pemex (state monopoly)
OPEC member	No
Proven reserves	~6 billion barrels
Data source	EIA / CNH estimates

Did you know

Interesting Facts About Mexico Oil

1

Mexico's Cantarell field was the second largest oil field in the world by production during its peak years in the early 2000s — producing over 2 million barrels per day — yet it declined with extraordinary speed after peak, losing over 90 percent of its output in less than 15 years, demonstrating how rapidly even giant fields can collapse without proper reservoir management.

2

Pemex carries over 100 billion dollars in debt — one of the highest debt loads of any oil company in the world — accumulated over decades of being taxed heavily while being prevented from retaining earnings for reinvestment. This debt burden severely limits Pemex's ability to invest in the exploration and development needed to reverse production decline.

3

Mexico nationalized its oil industry on March 18, 1938 — a date still celebrated annually as "Día de la Expropiación" — in a move that President Cárdenas financed partly through donations from ordinary Mexicans who gave jewelry and savings to help pay compensation to the expropriated foreign companies.

Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How much oil does Mexico produce per day?

Mexico produces approximately 1.7 million barrels of crude oil per day, primarily from offshore fields in the Bay of Campeche. This is dramatically lower than Mexico's peak of over 3.4 million barrels per day in 2004 and reflects decades of underinvestment in the state oil company Pemex combined with the natural decline of the giant Cantarell field.

Why has Mexican oil production declined so dramatically?

Mexico's production decline has multiple causes — the natural depletion of the giant Cantarell field which lost over 90 percent of its output after peak, Pemex's chronic underinvestment driven by being taxed so heavily it lacked capital for exploration, decades of political interference in Pemex management, and barriers to private investment that limited access to technology and capital.

Can Mexico reverse its production decline?

Mexico has significant unexplored and underdeveloped petroleum potential — particularly in deepwater Gulf of Mexico areas and unconventional shale deposits in the north — but realizing this potential requires investment that Pemex alone cannot provide given its debt burden. A sustained opening to private and international investment could reverse the decline but would require political decisions that have proven difficult to sustain across different administrations.

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