Mexico plans to increase its crude oil production substantially, overtaking both Venezuela and Brazil if its plans work out. This has emerged after earlier this week, the country awarded nine major drilling contracts to international bidders for fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Venezuela currently produces around 2 million bpd , which could drop to 1.6 million bpd next year. Brazil pumped 2.6 million bpd in October. When commercial production starts at the nine new fields, Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission expects the combined output from them to reach 900,000 bpd, adding to the country’s current rate of some 2 million bpd. One of the fields that will be developed in the deepwater section of the Mexican shelf, part of the Trion block, was awarded to Australia’s BHP Billiton, one of the world’s top three miners, which has been expanding its oil and gas operations recently. This, […]