One potential source of funding is foreign investment. But to date, the Mexican Congress has failed to take action that could lift barriers to such investment.
In an address on March 2005 to Vicente Fox Quezada, President of Mexico, the General Director of PEMEX, Luis Ramirez Corzo, summarized the current investment situation. This address took place in Ciudad del Carmen, an important oil area in southeast Mexico.
拉米雷斯·科佐（Ramirez Corzo）表示，过去四年中的PEMEX投资累计达到90亿美元，是过去二十年来投资的两倍以上。通过这些投资，已经确定了新的石油资源，总计540亿桶原油，价值3000亿美元。去年的原油生产达到了历史高度每天340万桶；这笔款项中的180万被出口，市场价值为212亿美元。天然气生产每天达到46亿立方英尺。2004财政年度的PEMEX销售总额为700亿美元。
President Fox explained that upgrades of huge refineries in Tula, Salalanca, Cadereyta and Madero have been completed, and that Minatitlan and Salina Cruz will follow shortly. He also indicated that during the last four years, PEMEX has completed five plant enlargement and construction projects for petrochemical plants, worth 2.1 billion Mexican pesos (about $186 million). Eight additional petrochemical projects are underway, with an investment of 6.7 billion Mexican pesos (about $600 million). One large project, “El Fenix,” with an initial scope that comprises the construction of two petrochemical mega-complexes, calls for an investment of $2.5 billion. The above figures notwithstanding, PEMEX faces a difficult financial situation and complex operational environment. It is the oil company with the largest debt in the world, with liabilities that amount to 860 billion Mexican pesos (about $77 billion). In addition, the fiscal operating environment forces PEMEX to allocate 70 percent of its income to pay for taxes.
这种PEMEX的经营状况已让位于墨西哥比索（约150亿美元）的损失。在同一时间范围内，资产已从1670亿墨西哥比索减少到580亿墨西哥比索（约50亿美元）。这种财务下降导致了维持PEMEX装置的滞后，这反过来促进了关键领域，技术滞后和支持系统和基础设施削弱的恶化。可以从33,000英里PEMEX管道网络中发生的最近发生的事故中确定这种情况。
A huge capital investment is required for PEMEX to solve its financial problems and modernize its infrastructure to the level required to position the enterprise as one of the main oil companies in the world. Capital required should come from foreign sources; but current legislation blocks foreign investment in strategic areas such as exploration and exploitation of oil deposits, and this has turned critical now, because most Mexican crude oil reserves are located in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
墨西哥国会讨论的最重要领域之一是修改墨西哥宪法，允许外国在某些战略领域（例如石油工业和电力发电）进行投资。这种修改将不是一件容易的任务，但是进步不能忽略。
Modesto Vazquez,gainmvc@mexis.com，是“ Intech Mexico Automatizacion”的执行编辑，也是墨西哥最大的工业杂志“ Manufactura”杂志编辑委员会成员。
