Pemex #04

[NuModel15]

"The would-be oil workers who must trade bribes for jobs exemplify only
one form of victimization. Pemex has paid generous compensation to
wealthy ranchers and plantation owners for land expropriated for oil
operations. However, when powerless peasants are expropriated they
receive compensatory payments so low that they are effectively left with
nothing with which to make a new start. But the biggest losers in this
system of corruption, the real victims of government malfeasance,
mismanagement, and collusion, are the Mexican people as a whole. This
is because the cost of developing the petroleum-exporting potential of
the country, as we have seen, has been borne in every other sector of
the economy. And that cost would not have been so high had the price
tags on equipment and technology not included bribes and kickbacks to
Pemex administrators and union bosses."
-- Judith Adler Hellman, "Mexico in Crisis," Holmes & Meier
Publishers, Inc., 1983, pp. 83-84

[Jim Lane]

Post by NuModel15
"The would-be oil workers who must trade bribes for jobs exemplify only
one form of victimization. Pemex has paid generous compensation to
wealthy ranchers and plantation owners for land expropriated for oil
operations. However, when powerless peasants are expropriated they
receive compensatory payments so low that they are effectively left with
nothing with which to make a new start. But the biggest losers in this
system of corruption, the real victims of government malfeasance,
mismanagement, and collusion, are the Mexican people as a whole. This
is because the cost of developing the petroleum-exporting potential of
the country, as we have seen, has been borne in every other sector of
the economy. And that cost would not have been so high had the price
tags on equipment and technology not included bribes and kickbacks to
Pemex administrators and union bosses."
-- Judith Adler Hellman, "Mexico in Crisis," Holmes & Meier
Publishers, Inc., 1983, pp. 83-84

Aren't you feeling well today? Or are you too mentally impaired to know
that posting this old and useless information twice is a waste of your
time? No one with an ounce of sense would take 21-year-old information
seriously.


jim

[Winston]

Post by Jim Lane
Aren't you feeling well today? Or are you too mentally impaired to know
that posting this old and useless information twice is a waste of your
time? No one with an ounce of sense would take 21-year-old information
seriously.

I like it! But whoever posted it never claimed it described Pemex today,
though I suspect Pemex hasn't changed a bit. Just 4 years ago that same
Pemex union whose bosses were selling jobs 20 years ago was laundering
Pemex money into the PRI presidential campaign. I think it worked
something like this:

1) PRI controls Mexican government
2) Mexican government controls Pemex
3) Pemex (for some reason) controls the oil workers' union
and funds this union (odd for a company to finance a
union which should be be in opposition to management)
4) For no reason in particular, Pemex decides to give the
oil workers' union a several billion dollar "bonus" for
the year 2000
5) For no reason in particular, the oil workers' union
decides (with no apparent opposition from among its
membership) to donate this several billion dollar
"bonus" to the 2000 PRI presidential campaign
6) Pemex and union act so shocked when their integrity is
questioned and vehemently deny any attempt to use
public funds (since Pemex money IS public money) to
tilt the election in favor of the PRI

The quote seems to verify what I wrote a few days ago, that Pemex has
been a net drain on the Mexican economy over the years rather than
the source of almost unlimited wealth that it should have been and
had been promised as when created by the PRI. Just a few months or
perhaps last year we were arguing whether Pemex was operating at a
profit, with me and Technobarbarian claiming it still operated at a
serious loss. Still losing money despite recent high world oil prices,
and charging over $2 a gallon gas for Mexican motorists. AFAIK,
Pemex still employs perhaps 10 times as many workers to produce the
same quantity of oil as other oil-producing nations. As the scandal
I outlined above was only 4 years ago, it hardly amounts to "stale"
or obsolete information; we will have to wait and see whether PRI
tries to abuse Pemex again in 2006.

[Jim Lane]

Post by Winston

Post by Jim Lane
Aren't you feeling well today? Or are you too mentally impaired to know
that posting this old and useless information twice is a waste of your
time? No one with an ounce of sense would take 21-year-old information
seriously.

I like it! But whoever posted it never claimed it described Pemex today,
though I suspect Pemex hasn't changed a bit. Just 4 years ago that same
Pemex union whose bosses were selling jobs 20 years ago was laundering
Pemex money into the PRI presidential campaign. I think it worked
1) PRI controls Mexican government
2) Mexican government controls Pemex
3) Pemex (for some reason) controls the oil workers' union
and funds this union (odd for a company to finance a
union which should be be in opposition to management)
4) For no reason in particular, Pemex decides to give the
oil workers' union a several billion dollar "bonus" for
the year 2000
5) For no reason in particular, the oil workers' union
decides (with no apparent opposition from among its
membership) to donate this several billion dollar
"bonus" to the 2000 PRI presidential campaign
6) Pemex and union act so shocked when their integrity is
questioned and vehemently deny any attempt to use
public funds (since Pemex money IS public money) to
tilt the election in favor of the PRI
The quote seems to verify what I wrote a few days ago, that Pemex has
been a net drain on the Mexican economy over the years rather than
the source of almost unlimited wealth that it should have been and
had been promised as when created by the PRI. Just a few months or
perhaps last year we were arguing whether Pemex was operating at a
profit, with me and Technobarbarian claiming it still operated at a
serious loss. Still losing money despite recent high world oil prices,
and charging over $2 a gallon gas for Mexican motorists. AFAIK,
Pemex still employs perhaps 10 times as many workers to produce the
same quantity of oil as other oil-producing nations. As the scandal
I outlined above was only 4 years ago, it hardly amounts to "stale"
or obsolete information; we will have to wait and see whether PRI
tries to abuse Pemex again in 2006.

Have you forgotten that what Pemex can charge is set by the government?
If it is a drain, and it has been, it is the fault of the government
trying to make sure that the average person in Mexico with a car can
afford to put gas in it. It wan't until a few years ago that Pemex was
allowed to raise prices along the border to be "competitive" with US
prices and generate extra profit for the company. A lot of your quotes
come from 21 years ago and that is certainly stale. I challenged you to
report on what the situation is (facts, not opinion) so we could compare
anc contrast where the company is today. Mexican oil, being heavy in
sulphur, requires mor eeffort to make it salable in the US.

Looking forward to your updated facts.


jim

[Parsons]

Post by Jim Lane
Have you forgotten that what Pemex can charge is set by the government?
If it is a drain, and it has been, it is the fault of the government
trying to make sure that the average person in Mexico with a car can
afford to put gas in it. It wan't until a few years ago that Pemex was
allowed to raise prices along the border to be "competitive" with US
prices and generate extra profit for the company. A lot of your quotes
come from 21 years ago and that is certainly stale. I challenged you to
report on what the situation is (facts, not opinion) so we could compare
anc contrast where the company is today. Mexican oil, being heavy in
sulphur, requires mor eeffort to make it salable in the US.
Looking forward to your updated facts.

I was walking by a Pemex station on my Mexico 2000 trip and I took a look
at the pump prices. At the time it was around $2.15 per gallon for an
exchange rate of 9.25 pesos the dollar. It would be slightly cheaper in
dollar terms with todays exchange rate of 11.3 to 1. But in 2000 I seem
to remember the U.S. price of gas being roughl $1.50 per gallon, so
Mexicans were paying quite a bit more, and they earn roughly 20% of what
Americans earn. Furthermore, Mexico is an oil EXPORTER and is literally
awash in oil, while the U.S. IMPORTS most of its oil. So Mexico's price
of gasoline is inconsistent with its supply of oil. I can only guess, but
I imagine that if Pemex were as efficient as U.S. and European oil
companies and had similar refining capacity, that Mexican gas SHOULD
cost $0.50 a gallon or less. But Pemex is so fat and bloated and corrupt
and inefficient they not only can't extract oil from the ground
efficiently, but also can't refine it, so (according to Technobarbarian)
Mexico winds up actually having to import most of its gasoline from the
U.S.!

This is just an incredible situation. Mexico's oil reserves should allow
it to practically pave every road and highway in Mexico with solid gold.
But instead of producing any wealth at all, Pemex has actually sucked the
Mexican economy dry. And this is not ancient history, it is still
occurring from what I see. Has the Fox administration eliminated even
one of the superfluous Pemex jobs in the last 4 years?

[Pomponio Magnus, Gobernador Constitucional del Estado Libre y Soberano de Tejas de Santa Anna]

Post by Parsons

Post by Jim Lane
Have you forgotten that what Pemex can charge is set by the government?

Hear! Hear! Finally a gringo that has some brains and has researched
matters before opening his trap.

Post by Parsons

Post by Jim Lane
If it is a drain, and it has been, it is the fault of the government
trying to make sure that the average person in Mexico with a car can
afford to put gas in it. It wan't until a few years ago that Pemex was
allowed to raise prices along the border to be "competitive" with US
prices and generate extra profit for the company. A lot of your quotes
come from 21 years ago and that is certainly stale. I challenged you to
report on what the situation is (facts, not opinion) so we could compare
anc contrast where the company is today. Mexican oil, being heavy in
sulphur, requires mor eeffort to make it salable in the US.

Yep. Now, there is also the matter of the "sweet spot" for the
production rate. I believe that Mexico's present production platform
(around 3 mil per day, I think) is too high. The result will be that
the wells will loose pressure too quickly. But market (i.e. US)
demands will not allow Mexico to adequately manage its resources and
Fox is too wimpy to tell the US "no, our sweet spot is around 2 mil
and we are not pumping anymore so that our children will at least have
a bit of oil".

Post by Parsons

Post by Jim Lane
Looking forward to your updated facts.

I was walking by a Pemex station on my Mexico 2000 trip and I took a look
at the pump prices. At the time it was around $2.15 per gallon for an
exchange rate of 9.25 pesos the dollar. It would be slightly cheaper in
dollar terms with todays exchange rate of 11.3 to 1. But in 2000 I seem
to remember the U.S. price of gas being roughl $1.50 per gallon, so
Mexicans were paying quite a bit more, and they earn roughly 20% of what
Americans earn. Furthermore, Mexico is an oil EXPORTER and is literally
awash in oil, while the U.S. IMPORTS most of its oil. So Mexico's price
of gasoline is inconsistent with its supply of oil. I can only guess, but
I imagine that if Pemex were as efficient as U.S. and European oil
companies and had similar refining capacity, that Mexican gas SHOULD
cost $0.50 a gallon or less.

Pemex does not set the price at which it sells its products. You did
not read the previous post at all. Did you also just walk by grammar
school? Let me repeat so that you will get it:
Pemex-does-not-set-the-price-at-which-it-sells-its-oil. The price is
set by the so called economic-cabinet, composed of the president and
the ministers of hacienda (treasury), economy, energy, and sundry
fauna. Pemex is, in effect, told "you are to contribute x billions
this year" and then has to go out there and scare this moolah up. How
are you measuring efficiency? Return on investment? (Since
maintenance and operations investments have been nil since delaMadrid,
Pemex would have an infinite ROI under this criteria. LOL.) Barrel
extracted per man-hour worked? (Do factor equipment differences.)
Labor costs? (You gotta be kidding!) Etc., etc. Now, the price of
gas in the US is just under $2. But you are failing to factor in the
other costs which the US consumer is paying to have that two dollar
gallon. The most significant one is the cost of Gulf War II, which
already has wiped out the Clinton deficit and created an ocean of red
ink and of red blood. The ill will this war engendered around the
world has turned the US into a paranoid country where boarding a plane
requires full body cavity searches. But as long as soccer moms can
drive their gas hog suv's, "'murrica will pay any price and bear any
burden...", as Kennedy said, even if colonoscopes become standard
issue at airports.

Post by Parsons
But Pemex is so fat and bloated and corrupt
and inefficient

What is your source for this assertion? If Pemex is so inefficient
how come it has historically provided 30% and more of the revenues of
the government? Where is the corruption centered? If a worker takes
home an extra pair of gloves, does that put him in the same league as
Ken Lay?

Post by Parsons
they not only can't extract oil from the ground
efficiently,

Do explain this. Pemex has been extracting oil for almost eighty
years.

Post by Parsons
but also can't refine it, so (according to Technobarbarian)
Mexico winds up actually having to import most of its gasoline from the
U.S.!

Refining capacity requires investment which did not occur since the
delaMadrid administration. But Pemex can refine pretty good if given
the equipment and has been doing so, again, for almost eighty years.
Boy, are you constipated.

Post by Parsons
This is just an incredible situation. Mexico's oil reserves should allow
it to practically pave every road and highway in Mexico with solid gold.
But instead of producing any wealth at all, Pemex has actually sucked the
Mexican economy dry.

Again, your eyes are brown. Is it a congenital condition or were you
dropped from your crib? Let me repeat: 1) You are an imbecile and 2)
Pemex has historically provided 30% or more of the government's
revenues. How the hell is this "sucking the economy dry"? Are you
aware that part of Pemex's budget has to go for free social benefits
at the communities in which it operates (paving streets, building
schools, etc.)? Please tell me how much Texxon donates to your
community.

Post by Parsons
And this is not ancient history, it is still
occurring from what I see. Has the Fox administration eliminated even
one of the superfluous Pemex jobs in the last 4 years?

What do you consider a superfluous Pemex job? Since you know so much
about personnel matters in Pemex, please provide details, especially
about Fox's appointments. Are you familiar with the "escalafon" or
wage scale at Pemex? How does it compare to Texas or mid-east wages
or benefits? If Pemex is so bad, why the hell are the gringo
companies drooling so much to steal it?