Mexican energy reforms to yield production growth

Mexican energy sector reforms are expected to yield growth in long-term production trends, analysis from the U.S. Energy Department said.

Mexican lawmakers are putting the final touches on plans embraced by President Enrique Peña Nieto aimed at drawing international energy companies into the nation's energy sector. The move opens Mexico up to private investors after more than 70 years under a monopoly controlled by state-run Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex.

The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Energy Department, said those reforms are expected to translate into production gains for Mexico.

"The changes in EIA's assessment of Mexico's liquids production profile are profound," a briefing published Monday said.

Before reforms, EIA said it expected production from Mexico to decline from 3 million barrels per day in 2010 to 1.8 million bpd by 2025. With the reforms, Mexican production holds steady at around 2.9 million bpd through 2020.

Peña Nieto set a goal of producing 3.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2025, which would be a 40 percent increase from 2013 levels.

The oil sector accounted for 13 percent of the country's export earnings last year. The country, a top 10 oil producer, had an estimated 10 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of 2013.