Mexico seeks crude oil swap with US

Mexico’s state oil company is proposing a historic swap of millions of barrels of oil with the United States.

Pemex said Thursday it wants to bring in as much as 100,000 barrels of crude oil and lightly processed oil known as condensates, to mix with its heavier crudes and use in domestic refineries, Reuters reported.

{mosads}It would mark a shift from decades of Mexican self-sufficiency on oil. If United States officials agree, it would break the 40-year ban on oil exports.

In return, Mexico would provide the United States with the heavier crude that domestic refineries have been built to handle, Reuters said.

Mexico was recently the 10th largest producer of crude, but Pemex’s output fell to historic lows last year. Meanwhile, the United States became the biggest producer of oil last year thanks to its shale boom.

Pemex is still negotiating the deal with the United States, which has confirmed that it is communicating with Mexico on the matter.

It also does not represent an increase in Mexican oil shipments, Pemex said.

“This does not represent an additional commitment to the 803,000 barrels of Mexican crude that were exported on average daily to the United States last year,” it said in a statement to Reuters.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, encouraged the Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker to grant Mexico’s request.

“Secretary Pritzker and the Department of Commerce retain full statutory and regulatory authority to consider oil exchanges and swaps,” she said in a Friday statement.

“The Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations all supported a formal exchange program with Canada. Mexico — with which we are developing ever closer energy ties — deserves the same consideration.”