Japan loan to Pemex

Offshore staff

(Mexico City)- Mexico's state-owned oil and gas company Pemex has received a loan agreement in the amount of $41 million from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The loan will be used to subsidize activities provided by the Japan Drilling Company (JDC), who will provide technical assistance on drilling operations in deepwater regions.

This agreement is a further step to bring foreign E&P services into Mexico to help Pemex explore and produce in deeper waters. The majority of Pemex's activities offshore have focused on the shallow offshore Cantarell field. Pemex is developing a number of joint working agreements with international companies to draw on their knowledge base and deepwater experience.

This will be the first drilling contract for JDC in Mexico, although Pemex has received other loans from JBIC in the past. Previous loans have included a $1.2 billion loan for the Cantarell oil field development project in October 1998 and a $600 million loan for various gas fields in March 2004.

10/7/2005