By Catherine Bremer
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's future as an oil exporter hinges on winning more autonomy and operating flexibility for state oil monopoly Pemex, Chief Financial Officer Juan Jose Suarez said on Friday.
Pemex, the world's most heavily indebted energy company, wants to send less of its booming revenue to the government and use more of it to fund exploration to replace dwindling reserves.
Suarez told the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit in Mexico City he still believed a proposal to grant Pemex more autonomy and appoint independent board members could get through Congress before elections in July.
Such a law would give Pemex more scope to reinvest its profits and work with foreign companies as service providers or partners in key new projects like deepwater oil before existing wells dry up, Suarez said.
"I think yes," Suarez said, asked if the autonomy plan could be approved by Congress before the election. "And if not, the important thing is that it's discussed and that we start to think about solutions for Pemex along these lines."
Pemex has pushed hard for a reform to allow it to operate more independently from the government, which for years has drained 61 percent of its revenues in taxes and limited its spending and operations.
A new tax regime -- the only major energy sector reform passed under President Vicente Fox -- has shaved a few percent off Pemex's tax bill, but the company still needs Congress to approve its investment plans.
These constraints are even more frustrating, Suarez said, as record oil prices generate billions of dollars in windfall profits, most of which go straight to government coffers. Continued...
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