Mexico rules out cutting oil output, is downbeat on crude prices

Mexico is ready to take part in a technical meeting called by OPEC this month to discuss the oil market, but it will not cut crude production, a senior energy ministry official said on Wednesday.

Deputy energy minister Lourdes Melgar said Mexico has already lost a large chunk of output since the start of the current administration, which set out to recover lost production by opening up the oil and gas industry to private companies.

"We cannot be part of an effort to cut, nor can we participate in an effort that would delay the implementation of the energy reform," she said in an interview.

Asked where she saw the price of oil in the next two years, Melgar was not optimistic it would rise much. "We're talking about a range of US$40, US$50 per barrel. We're definitely not seeing prices of US$80, and US$60 looks difficult," she said.