A total of 392 US companies – 186 of them small businesses – are selling US$1bn of equipment and services to Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) for natural gas and oil field development, backed by US$900mn in loan guarantees from US Ex-Im Bank.

 

Pemex will use the equipment and services – financed by three separate Ex-Im guarantees – for development at 44 locations throughout Mexico under the New Pidiregas Projects (NPP), the Strategic Gas Program (PEG), and the Cantarell oil field project. Exploration programmes are onshore and offshore in the states of Veracruz, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Chiapas, and Campeche states. The projects have been approved by the lower house of Mexico’s Congress, and are to be included in its annual national budget.

 

A $350 million long-term loan guarantee will support the export of goods and services from 191 US companies (91 of them small businesses) for upstream oil field development at 23 natural gas and crude oil exploration sites onshore and offshore near the Bay of Campeche, under the NPP. The equipment will be used for field pressure maintenance, field production optimisation, refurbishment and exploration to increase national production capacity. BNP Paribas, New York, is the guaranteed lender.

 

A US$250mn long-term loan guarantee will support the export of goods and services from 134 US companies (64 of them small businesses) to be used at the Cantarell oilfield in the state of Campeche, Mexico’s largest field under development. The equipment will be used to maintain field pressure, deepen or drill 58 wells, and complete drilling of 77 development wells, also with the aim of increasing production capacity. ABN Amro Bank, Chicago, is the guaranteed lender.

 

A US$300mn long-term loan guarantee will support the export of goods and services from 67 US companies (30 of them small businesses) to be used in Mexico’s PEG to increase natural gas exploration and production. The programme is made up of 20 separate programme areas onshore and offshore in Veracruz, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Chiapas and Campeche. Standard Chartered Bank, New York, is the guaranteed lender.

 

US companies involved in the export sales are located from Massachusetts to California and most states in between, including significant representation from Texas and Louisiana.

 

Small business participation in the three projects in terms of monetary value ranges from 8-16%. But small businesses account for 47% of participants in NPP, 44% in PEG, and 48.5% in Cantarell.

 

Over the past six years, Ex-Im has approved US$6.33bn in financing in support of U.S. exports to Pemex.