US Ex-Im Bank has approved a US$400mn long-term loan guarantee enabling 95 US exporters and suppliers to sell up to US$447mn of oil and gasfield equipment and services to Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) in Mexico.

Schlumberger Technology Corp and the following Texas and Louisiana companies are major exporters and suppliers on the transaction:

Halliburton Energy Services, M-I LLC, Weatherford USA Inc, Universal Compression Holdings, Protechnics International, BJ Services Co, Baker Hughes Allied Ops, Dowell Product Center, and Petrotech EPC Co.

“We are delighted to support an export sale that benefits so many US companies and sustains US jobs,” says Ex-Im Bank chairman Philip Merrill. “Mexico is an important market for US exporters and a long-time customer of Ex-Im Bank, and Texas is one of the top exporting states in this country.”

The transaction is the fourth and final conversion of a US$1.1bn preliminary commitment authorised by Ex-Im in September 2002 to support US exports for Pemex projects.

Pemex will use the equipment and services financed under this latest loan guarantee for its New Pidiregas Projects (NPP) to enhance production at 23 existing natural gas and crude oil exploration sites on and offshore near the Bay of Campeche.

The guaranteed lender on the transaction is BNP-Paribas, New York. The primary source of repayment is Pemex.