Petróleos Mexicanos, Mexico’s state-owned oil and gas company, has been mired in debt and plagued by operational and other challenges for many years, but a high-profile joint venture (JV) with Australia’s Woodside Energy may — emphasis on may — signal the beginning of a turnaround. The $7.2 billion, 100-Mb/d Trion project, Pemex’s first ultra-deepwater development, is proceeding on schedule and on budget and is slated to deliver its first oil in 2028. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss Pemex’s troubled past (and present) and why its Trion Oil Project JV with Woodside — and the prospects for more partnerships with Woodside and Brazil’s Petrobras in the deepwater Gulf — could help.
Canadian crude output is rising, requiring new export routes. As traditional pathways face constraints, the U.S. Rockies—especially the Guernsey, WY hub—are emerging as key corridors for moving Canadian heavy crude to downstream markets, including the Gulf Coast.
Established in 1938 with Mexico’s nationalization of 17 foreign-owned oil and gas producers, Pemex’s initial focus was onshore production, mostly in Tabasco, Veracruz and Chiapas states in southeastern Mexico; by the 1960s, its crude oil output there was topping 300 Mb/d. But a big discovery was in the making.
In July 1961, a fisherman named Rudo Cantarell noticed a bubbling black oil slick on the blue-green waters of the Bay of Campeche, about 50 miles west of the Yucatán Peninsula. He told his fellow shrimpers and anyone else who would listen, but no one believed him until he finally convinced Pemex officials in Ciudad de Carmen to come take a look in 1971. Their visit to the site eventually led to exploratory drilling: The first test well in 1976 — in waters only 250 feet deep —produced extraordinary volumes of crude oil (upwards of 35 Mb/d) and the massive oil find was quickly named in Rudo’s honor: the Cantarell Field — light-blue shaded area in Figure 1 below. (Rudo was given a modest job at Pemex and a pension.)
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About the song
“Fix You” was written by Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion. It appears as the fourth song on Coldplay’s third studio album, X&Y. Chris Martin created the song to comfort his then-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, after the death of her father. The power ballad is a meditation on grief, love and support through a hard time. Released as the second single from the album in September 2005, it went to #3 on the Billboard Adult Alternative chart and #59 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. The song has been certified 3X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Personnel on the record were: Chris Martin (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar), Guy Berryman (bass, synthesizer, backing vocals), Jonny Buckland (guitar, backing vocals), Bill Champion (drums, percussion, backing vocals), and Mark Phythian, Carmen Rizzo and Rob Smith (programming).
X&Y was recorded between January 2004 and January 2005 at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool; AIR Studios, Sarm West Studios and Townhouse Studios in London; CRC in Chicago; and The Hit Factory in New York City. Produced by Danton Supple, Ken Nelson and Coldplay, the album was released in June 2005. It went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified 3X Platinum by the RIAA. Four singles were released from the LP.
Coldplay is a British rock band formed in London in 1997 by lead vocalist/pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey. They signed a record deal with Parlophone in 1999 and released their debut studio album, Parachutes, in July 2000. They have released 10 studio albums, six live albums, 13 compilation albums, 18 EPs and 43 singles, and have sold over 170 million records worldwide. Coldplay has won two American Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, three Brit Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, and four World Music Awards. They continue to record and tour. Their most recent release was the studio album Moon Music, which dropped in October 2024. Their last tour was the Music of the Spheres World Tour, which concluded at Wembley Stadium in London in September 2025.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
