Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Fridayunveiled a 9.4-billion-U.S. dollar program to revive the country's languishingenergy sector.
The four-pronged plan, requiring an investment of 175 billionpesos (9.39 billion U.S. dollars), calls for boosting oil output,rehabilitating six refineries, building a new refinery and modernizinghydroelectric plants.
"We don't want to be an alarmist, but ... 14 years ago, oilproduction was at 3.4 million barrels a day and today it is at 1.9 millionbarrels. In 14 years, we lost 1.5 million barrels a day in output and it'sdeclining because the energy sector and the oil industry were abandoned,"Lopez Obrador told reporters at a press conference.
"That is why we are going to urgently intervene and investfrom the first year an additional 175 billion pesos in exploration anddrilling," said Lopez Obrador, who will take office on Dec. 1.
Mexico's six existing refineries will be revamped "to operateat 100 percent of their capacity in two years," he said.
A new refinery will be built in Dos Bocas, in southeast Tabascostate, and when completed in three years, Mexico should be able to stopimporting costly gasoline, he added.
Existing hydroelectric plants need to be upgraded to make the mostof the "underutilized" infrastructure, said Lopez Obrador.
Editor:Cherie
