Mexico's Pemex to invest $12.1 bln in new pipelines, upkeep
MONTERREY, Mexico, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Mexico's state run oil company said it will invest $12.1 billion in new pipeline projects and maintenance of its existing facilities over the next 10 years in a bid to boost flagging output.
Over the next 5 years, Pemex will spend $5.5 billion to build new pipelines, pumps and storage facilities, Juan Jose Suarez, Pemex's chief executive, told a business forum in northern Mexico.
The company will spend $5.6 billion for upkeep of its infrastructure and another $1 billion on operating systems.
"Pemex's principle network of pipelines runs 47,000 kilometers (29,204 miles) and is on average 25 years old," Suarez said.
President Felipe Calderon appointed Suarez as Pemex chief in September in a bid to reverse slumping production and falling reserves.
Mexico depends on oil sales to finance government spending but has seen its crude output slide more than a quarter since 2004 as yields drop at the aging Cantarell field and new projects prove slow to make up the gap. (Reporting by Gabriela Lopez; Editing by Kim Coghill)
