FACTBOX-Mexico's oil industry
April 8 (Reuters) - Following are some facts about Mexico's energy sector as the government presented a sector reform proposal on Tuesday:
* Mexico is the world's No. 5 producer of crude oil by volume and a top three supplier to the United States.
* The industry is in a critical situation with yields at Cantarell -- a sprawling offshore field discovered in 1971 when a fisherman noticed oily bubbles in the Gulf of Mexico -- slipping fast and a lack of new production to make up for the shortfall.
* Mexico nationalized its oil industry in 1938 and created state-run monopoly Pemex. Mexico has some of the tightest restrictions on private investment in energy in the world, with stricter rules than Cuba, China and Russia.
* Mexico's oil reserves are declining due to years of low investment under seven decades of one-party rule until 2000. Today, Pemex discovers only one new barrel of oil for every two it extracts.
* A refining shortfall means Mexico imports 40 percent of its gasoline. It also imports some natural gas.
* Taxes on oil exports fund nearly 40 percent of government spending, but having to hand over more than half its total revenues has held back Pemex's spending on exploration and new refineries. Two recent tax cuts slightly eased Pemex's burden.
* Mexico produces about 3 million barrels of crude per day, down from a peak of 3.4 million bpd in 2004, and exports about 1.5 million bpd, making it the world's No. 9 oil exporter. (Reporting by Jason Lange and Catherine Bremer; editing by Carol Bishopric)
