PEMEX Projects Mexico's Oil Output @ 2.5 MBD In 2010 - Agencies Warn Of Downgrade For Govt. Debt

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MEXICO CITY, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Mexico's state oil monopoly Pemex is forecasting crude production in Mexico will fall in 2010 to 2.5 million barrels per day, Reforma newspaper said on Wednesday, citing Pemex head Jesus Reyes Heroles.

Pemex currently has an oil production goal of 2.65 million bpd for 2009. Mexican oil output fell 7.8 percent in July compared to the same month a year ago to 2.561 million bpd, as Pemex battles with declining output from its Cantarell oil field.

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Mexican oil output has fallen by nearly a quarter since 2004 as output from the aging Cantarell field has slumped. Pemex is betting billions of dollars on the unconventional onshore Chicontepec oil deposit to stem the slide in crude output.

Falling oil production has put Mexico's already strained public finances under tight scrutiny. Oil revenues fund nearly 40 percent of the federal budget and two bond rating agencies have warned Mexico's debt ratings may be downgraded due to the country's heavy reliance on the waning oil industry. (Reporting by Veronica Gomez Sparrowe; Editing by Christian Wiessner)

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http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINN2628325620090826