Mexico’s Pemex Now Third Largest Stock Holder in Repsol

Mexico's Petroleos Mexicanos state oil monopoly, more familiarly known as Pemex, recently bought 825,150 shares in Spain’s Repsol YPF, S.A., increasing its stake in the Spanish company to 5 percent.

Repsol YPF, S.A. is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company operating in 29 countries.

The Mexican company announced, “Pemex, through its subsidiary P.M.I. Holding B.V. … bought 825,150 shares in Repsol YPF, seeking to consolidate its position in this company consistent with the tax advantages available on reaching a 5 percent position in Spanish companies,” Mercopress news agency reported.

The purchase makes Pemex the third largest stock holder of Repsol YPF behind Sacyr Vallehermoso, a leading Spanish construction company based in Madrid, which owns 20 percent of the company’s outstanding shares, followed by Spain’s Criteria Corp. with 12.9 percent.

Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company says crude production fell by about 1 percent in the first half of 2011, as compared to same period last year but insisted that its steady decline in oil output that began around 2005 "has begun to be reversed," stating that its daily output dropped to about 2.56 million barrels in the first six months of 2011, about 27,000 barrels lower than the same period of 2010.

By. Charles Kennedy, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com