MEXICO CITY: Mexican state-run oil company Pemex said on Friday its net profit rose 29 percent in the first quarter compared with the year-earlier quarter, helped by higher crude prices and currency movements.
The company, one of the largest in Latin America, reported a profit of 113.3 billion pesos ($6.2 billion) in the first three months of the year. Revenue rose 14 percent to 397.4 billion pesos.
Pemex said the company benefited from growing crude prices, which rose to $56.42 from $44.15 in the quarter, helping push export sales up 23.8 percent.
Sales in Mexico, particularly gasoline and diesel, also rose 9.2 percent due to higher prices.
Mexico’s peso also strengthened more than 7 percent against the dollar in the first quarter.
In a subsequent conference call with analysts on Friday, executives said Pemex expects to process around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) domestically toward the end of this year, and that the company processed an average of 598,000 bpd in the first quarter of 2018.
Pemex executives also told analysts the troubled Salina Cruz refinery in southern Mexico was processing 243,800 bpd at the end of March.
President Enrique Pena Nieto’s government enacted a wide-ranging reform in 2013-2014 to encourage foreign energy investment and boost the slackening oil output, ending Pemex’s monopoly in the sector.
Pemex’s crude and natural gas production were both lower in the first quarter than the same period last year.
Mexican state oil company Pemex turns $6 bln profit on oil prices
Mexican state oil company Pemex turns $6 bln profit on oil prices
Saudi Arabia sees 21% jump in mining sector licenses since 2016
- The growth in the Kingdom’s mining sector licenses aligns closely with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives, launched in 2016
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s mining sector has shown sustained growth, with the number of mining licenses increasing from 1,985 in 2016 to 2,401 by the end of 2024, representing cumulative growth of 21 percent, according to the 2024 mineral wealth statistics from the General Authority for Statistics.
The data highlights a steady upward trend in recent years. Licenses rose to 2,100 in 2021, marking a 6 percent increase from the previous year.
The upward trajectory continued with 2,272 licenses in 2022, 2,365 in 2023, and 2,401 in 2024, reflecting expanding exploration and investment activity across the Kingdom’s mining sector. Building material quarries accounted for the largest share of mining permits, climbing from 1,267 licenses in 2021 to 1,481 by 2024.
Exploration licenses also recorded consistent growth, supporting the Kingdom’s broader push to develop its mineral resources.
Other categories of mining activity saw significant expansion, including 2,554 exploration licenses, 744 exploitation licenses, 151 reconnaissance licenses, and 83 surplus mineral ore licenses issued during the same period.
The growth in the Kingdom’s mining sector licenses aligns closely with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives, launched in 2016, which aim to diversify national income sources and strengthen non-oil sectors.
