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Shell's oil trading earnings double in 2020 to $2.6 buyers was between 10% and 15%, the sources said. bln Saudi Aramco is also commissioning its 400,000-bpd Jizan 's 2020 earnings from trading crude refinery in the south west of the country which may have oil and refined products doubled from the previous reduced its exports, one of the sources said. year to $2.6 billion, helping to offset a sharp drop in For India, Saudi Aramco has rejected Indian refiners' re- demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. quests for extra supplies in April, but will keep average Shell's oil trading operations, known internally as monthly supplies to the country unchanged, three Indian Trading & Supply, accounted for 43% of the Oil Prod- refining sources said. ucts division's total earnings of $5.995 billion in 2020. Saudi Aramco declined to comment. Trading earnings totalled $1.3 billion in 2019, Shell's India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, annual report, which was released on Thursday, said. had repeatedly called on major oil producers to ease sup- The unusually high contribution from trading helped ply curbs and had pointed to Saudi Arabia's voluntary cuts Shell to weather one of the toughest years in the in- for contributing to a spike in global oil prices. dustry's history, when energy consumption collapsed Saudi Aramco did not cut supplies for some Asian buyers during the pandemic. in March, but reduced volumes by up to a quarter in Febru- Shell, the world's largest energy trader, experienced a ary. 28% drop in oil sales last year to 4.71 million barrels per day on average, the annual report said. Its 2020 profit dropped to its lowest in at least two Energy firms seize on carbon tech, environmental decades. goals to build new businesses Shell's oil trading figures do not include natural gas, Major energy companies are turning their carbon seques- liquefied natural gas, power and renewables. Shell is tration technologies and projects into business ventures, the world's largest liquefied natural gas trader. converting some efforts that help pump more oil and gas Rival BP's trading arm made nearly $4 billion in 2020 into profit-making ventures while burnishing their environ- on oil and gas trading, a copy of an internal BP mental reputations. The efforts could help big greenhouse presentation seen by Reuters showed, almost equal- gas emitters reduce their carbon emissions intensity and ling the company's 2019 record trading profit. move closer to Paris Agreement climate change targets. Companies can make large profits even during times Energy giants view these efforts as balancing customer of lower demand for commodities by storing products demands for more oil and gas while fitting in a lower- such as oil on shore or at sea. Shell's vast refining, carbon energy world. trading and retail operations also allow it to take ad- Carbon removal technologies will be necessary to limit the vantage of short-lived changes in supply and demand increase in planetary warming to no more than 1.5 de- around the world. grees Celsius, the goal of the 2015 Paris Climate Agree- The strong trading results for BP and Shell show that ment, the United Nations has said. there is real value creation which will transfer over into renewable power as the companies shift away from oil KINDER MORGAN INC and gas, Bernstein analyst Oswald Clint said in a Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan has formed a business note. unit to acquire assets and build new services around - bon storage, renewable gas and diesel, hydrogen and Saudi cuts April crude for some Asian refiners, power generation and transmission. Its Energy Transition maintains India supply -sources Ventures unit aims to broaden low-carbon projects already Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has cut the supply of in development, the company said. The operation will have April-loading crude to at least four north Asian buyers its own financial, commercial and engineering staff to de- by up to 15%, while meeting the normal monthly re- velop and commercialize new projects. quirements of Indian refiners, refinery sources told Reuters on Friday. BAKER HUGHES CO Saudi Arabia's reduction in supplies come as the Or- The oilfield equipment and services firm acquired Norwe- ganization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries gian technology firm Compact Carbon Capture (3C) and (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, de- plans to commercialize its solvent-based products. 3C cided earlier this month to extend most of its supply says its scalable designs can be as little as a quarter of the cuts into April. footprint of other carbon-capturing systems. Baker Hughes Saudi Arabia has pledged to continue with an extra 1 will market the rotating 3C equipment alongside its prod- million barrels per day voluntary output cut for a third ucts and services to industries including oil and gas, lique- month in April. fied natural gas, shipping and pipeline operators. 3C's in- Chinese refiners received a small cut in their Saudi dustrial-scale unit designs could capture up to 250,000 supply, while the reduction in volumes for Japanese tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.

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EXXON CORP But other suspected criminals continue to operate BR Exxon Mobil formed Low Carbon Solutions LLC, offering stations, Reuters has found. A major franchisee in the to make available its technologies and projects that Exx- state of Rio de Janeiro, for example, has been indicted by on deployed to sequester its planet-warming CO2 emis- state prosecutors at least 12 times for fuel-related crimes sions. The business also aims to leverage Exxon's expe- over the past 15 years and is currently on trial for his al- rience in producing hydrogen gas. leged participation in a sprawling fuel-smuggling ring, ac- The Low Carbon business will leverage Exxon's CO2 cording to court documents reviewed by Reuters. He has storage caverns along the U.S. Gulf Coast and under the not been convicted in any of the court cases examined by North Sea. It also will market emissions-reduction credits the news agency. from the use of its sequestration projects. BR's situation is not unique. Crooks have infiltrated the four largest chains in Brazil, where they are esti- mated to control hundreds, if not thousands, of stations, OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP according to Reuters interviews with more than two doz- Occidental formed Oxy Low Carbon Ventures to marshal en industry and law enforcement officials. The news or- its carbon capture, utilization and emissions reduction ganization also reviewed thousands of pages of court operations. It and private equity investor Rusheen Capital cases and enforcement records from Brazil's oil regulator. Management formed 1PointFive, a Texas business that Cheats sell stolen gasoline and rig pumps to short cus- aims to capture CO2 directly from the air and bury it un- tomers the full amount they paid for, the interviews and derground. documents show. More serious crimes abound, too. United Airlines pledged a multimillion dollar investment in Some entrepreneurs use their stations to launder cash for 1PointFive and will become a customer of the business, gangs like the First Capital Command, South America's aiming to absorb the equivalent annual carbon emissions largest organized crime group, authorities allege, as well of 10% of its aircraft. as for "militias" - violent criminal enterprises composed in part by retired and off-duty cops. TOTAL SE In southern Brazil, a station owner is facing trial for the Total has pledged to put 10% of its research and devel- 2017 murder of the head of an industry watchdog that opment budget to advance carbon capture, utilization was investigating suspected fraud at the businessman's and storage technology. It invested in a project to study operations. the costs of capturing CO2 generated by a Lafarge- Gas station graft is lucrative. Ill-gotten gains at Brazil's Holcim cement plant in Colorado and bury the emissions pumps amount to 23 billion reais ($4.15 billion) annually, underground. according to a November estimate from the Instituto Combustivel Legal, or ICL, an industry group founded last year to combat fraud. CHEVRON CORP Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has blamed unscrupu- Chevron invested in Blue Planet Systems, a startup com- lous gas station owners for cheating the treasury and mercializing a technology that makes a substitute for fleecing motorists amid public anger over recent fuel pric- limestone in concrete and building materials from CO2. es hikes. The two firms are planning pilot projects that commercial- "It's a business worth billions," Bolsonaro said during a ize the Blue Planet carbon capture process. live broadcast on multiple social media platforms in Feb- ruary. In statements to Reuters, Brazil's largest fuel distributors SPECIAL REPORT-In Brazil, organized crime siphons by market share - BR, Ipiranga, Raizen and Ale - billions from gas stations acknowledged grappling with bad actors in their retail out- Travel across Brazil and you'll spot signs almost every- lets, all of which are owned by independent franchisees. where for BR Distribuidora, the owner of South America's Together these four firms account for nearly half the gas largest gas station chain. The familiar green-and-yellow stations in Brazil. The distributors said they work diligently logo of the company, formerly a unit of state oil giant to cull miscreants, feeding information about alleged mis- Petrobras, is a fixture in big cities and hamlets alike. conduct to police, prosecutors and regulators. Less well-known is BR's effort to purge its retail network These companies have ties to some of the biggest names of alleged crooks. In 2019, the company booted hun- in the oil industry. Raizen Combustiveis SA, for example, dreds of independent franchisees from its network for is a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell PLC and purported "irregularities," a BR spokesman told Reuters, local ethanol producer Cosan SA; it oversees roughly including evading fuel taxes and ripping off customers 5,000 Shell-branded gas stations in Brazil, according to with adulterated gasoline. In all, BR stripped its name the most recent data from Brazil's oil regulator. Ale Com- from 730 outlets, roughly 10% of its Brazilian network at bustiveis, with around 1,500 stations, is a unit of Switzer- the time, the company said. land's Glencore PLC. Top player BR, the former subsidi-

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(continued) ary of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, boasts approximately 7,800 Criminals in Brazil reap 7.2 billion reais ($1.3 billion) an- locations. Ipiranga is a subsidiary of São Paulo-based nually from fuel tax evasion alone, according to a 2019 Ultrapar Participacoes SA and has 7,105 stations in Bra- study by the Fundação Getúlio Vargas, a Rio de Janeiro zil. think tank. Adulterating gasoline with ethanol or other liq- Lawsuits aimed at stripping alleged wrongdoers of their uids is another trick to boost profits, authorities said. franchises can take years to wend their way through But some of the biggest rewards for station owners, au- Brazil's court system, industry officials said. Periodic thorities and company sources said, comes from using purges, like BR's 2019 housecleaning, can amount to their outlets to launder money for criminal organizations. whack-a-mole, with bad actors finding ways to gain con- Among the Rio gas station owners with criminal records trol of other stations, said Carlo Faccio, the head of ICL. identified by Reuters is Cleber "Clebinho" Oliveira da Sil- "The situation of the fuel industry is very bad," he said. va. He currently owns two gas stations in Rio, according "We're very far behind. There's a lot we have to do." to corporate registration records: one an independent No government agency tracks how many gas stations station unaffiliated with any national brand, the other a are linked to convicted or suspected criminals in Brazil. franchised location for Ipiranga. Reuters analyzed court records in the state of Rio de In 2018, da Silva was convicted in state court of belong- Janeiro, which authorities say is a hotbed of this illicit ing to the Justice League, one of Rio's largest criminal activity. militias. Da Silva, now 37, was sentenced to six years in The news organization identified 20 station owners who prison. He has remained free as he appeals that decision. have been indicted or convicted for fuel-related offenses In 2019, da Silva was sentenced to pay a fine and carry since 2015. Collectively, the 101 gas stations they own out community service in a separate case for using his amount to roughly 4% of all retail fuel outlets in Rio state. independent station to launder the Justice League's illicit Most of those owners were linked to organized criminal profits. The nature of the community service and amount groups, according to prosecutors and court documents of the fine was not specified in the sentencing document. they submitted in various criminal cases. Authorities say the Justice League is involved in a variety Guilherme Vinhas, a partner at the Rio de Janeiro law of illegal activities, including fuel smuggling, auto theft firm Vinhas e Redenschi Advogados who has worked for and protection rackets. all of the largest distributors, said criminal infiltration of Prosecutors did not establish how much money da Silva the retail fuel sector had become a major concern for his laundered. But in his decision, the judge cited witness clients. testimony alleging that the station's monthly revenue "The companies are monitoring this," Vinhas said, "and more than quadrupled to 900,000 reais ($163,000) after they're worried." da Silva purchased a piece of the business in 2015. Within a year of that conviction, da Silva purchased an- other station, this one a franchised location for Ipiranga, IRRESISTIBLE OPPORTUNITY corporate registration and regulatory records show. Fuel-related crimes are common in oil-producing nations Ipiranga told Reuters that da Silva was not an owner of in emerging markets. that station when it entered the company's distribution In Mexico, for example, thieves tapping into pipelines network in 2008, and that it was unaware of his involve- cost state oil company Pemex 15 million pesos ment. "If this person currently has a stake ... he did it ($728,000) per day, Chief Executive Octavio Romero completely behind the back of Ipiranga and in a way that Oropeza said last year. This purloined fuel frequently is goes against what is written on the franchise contract," fenced by complicit gas station owners, Mexican authori- the company said in an e-mailed statement. ties say. Da Silva could not be reached for comment. His attorney Still, industry executives say Brazil's fuel crooks are did not respond to requests for comment and declined to among the world's worst, due in part to a tax regimen provide contact information for his client. they say invites cheating. Fuel taxes here vary widely Another alleged crook is José Rodrigo Gallo de Faria, a from state to state. For example, the state tax on ethanol, former Shell franchisee in Rio de Janeiro. In 2019, state sold in virtually all Brazilian gas stations, is 32% in Rio de prosecutors indicted de Faria for receiving stolen gaso- Janeiro state, compared to 13% in neighboring São Pau- line, according to a copy of the indictment seen by Reu- lo. That creates an incentive for criminals to purchase ters. He is free pending trial. fuel from low-tax jurisdictions and resell it in high-tax Police described de Faria in that indictment as the "main states to crooked station owners who charge customers sponsor" of the so-called called Xerem Militia, which spe- the higher tax and pocket the difference, industry officials cializes in robbing fuel from pipelines. According to the said. indictment, the militia in April 2019 illegally tapped into a "It's the most complex (tax system) that I know," Marcelo pipeline in a working class neighborhood near the city of Araújo, the chief executive of Ipiranga, said during a vir- Rio de Janeiro, setting off an explosion that killed an eight tual oil industry conference in December. -year-old girl. De Faria was not implicated in the girl's

3 March 15, 2021

(continued) death. A lawyer for de Faria, Ralph Hage, said his client mail. was innocent and could document that his fuel was pur- Brazilian law dictates that retail gas stations cannot be chased legally. Hage did not provide proof of those legal owned by oil producers or distributors. Rather, they must purchases to Reuters, but said he would produce the be owned by independent third parties - usually individu- relevant documentation in court. als - who are free to buy and sell stations among them- Raizen, which oversees the Shell brand in Brazil, de- selves. While franchise agreements typically give distribu- clined to comment about de Faria. His outlet no longer tors the right to approve these transactions, such sales bears the Shell logo. In January, a few weeks after Reu- nonetheless create a backdoor through which unscrupu- ters first contacted Raizen about de Faria, his station ex- lous actors can buy into well-known chains by dealing ited the Shell network and turned independent, according directly with station owners, said Délio Campos, a to registration records filed with Brazil's national oil regu- spokesman for Glencore's Ale network. lator. "In some cases, despite contractual conditions forbidding One of the best-known figures among Rio de Janeiro's it, property can change hands without the company's con- gas station owners is Mario "Marinho" Augusto de Cas- sent having been obtained," Campos said. tro, who owns a stake in at least 43 outlets in the state, Da Silva, the convicted money launderer, purchased his according to corporate registration records reviewed by Ipiranga station in 2019 from two individuals with a pre- Reuters. existing franchise agreement with the company, regulato- De Castro has been the target of at least 15 law enforce- ry records show. ment investigations over the past two decades, all involv- Ipiranga said any ownership stake by da Silva happened ing fuel, according to state police records reviewed by without its knowledge. Da Silva could not be reached for Reuters. comment. His lawyer did not respond to a request for At present he is defending himself in at least five criminal comment. cases. In one of those cases, filed in 2008, prosecutors Authorities say fuel crime has become so lucrative to charged de Castro with participating in a large criminal Brazil's underworld that those trying to stop it are at risk. organization that smuggled low-tax fuel into Rio state. On March 23, 2017, Fabrizzio Machado da Silva, the At least 18 of de Castro's stations are franchised loca- head of the Brazilian Association for Fighting Fuel Fraud, tions for BR, and at least seven stations are franchised an industry watchdog in southern Brazil, was shot to locations for Shell, the records show. death outside his home in the city of Curitiba. Police al- Renato Alves, a lawyer for de Castro, said his client has lege the hit was arranged by Onildo Chaves de Córdova never been convicted of a crime and denies wrongdoing II, an area businessman upset at the association's investi- in all ongoing court cases. He said de Castro's multiple gations into potential fuel adulteration and pump rigging franchise agreements with BR and Raizen show he is at three of his independent gas stations, according to the well-respected in the industry. Alves added that the sheer criminal indictment and Luis Roberto de Oliveira Zagonel, number of government regulations de Castro must con- a lawyer for da Silva's family. tend with across his large portfolio of stations has made State prosecutors charged Chaves with murder. He is his client vulnerable to "undeserved" indictments. free pending trial. No trial date has been set. BR said it had "no knowledge of a criminal conviction A lawyer for Chaves, André Pontarolli, said his client is related to the activities of Mr. Mario Augusto de Castro," innocent. He added that police probes into Chaves' busi- adding that the company "will reinforce the mechanisms ness practices have not resulted in any indictments. that it uses to curb" suspected wrongdoing by its fran- The Fighting Fuel Fraud group, meanwhile, disbanded chisees. shortly after da Silva's murder, Zagonel said. Raizen declined to comment about de Castro.

Sustained higher oil prices to spur U.S. output FIGHTING BACK growth -JP Morgan Fuel distributors frequently press lawsuits against fran- Sustained higher oil prices are expected to spur higher chisees they suspect of irregularities in an effort to termi- U.S. oil output this year, JP Morgan analysts said in a nate their franchise agreements, according to several weekly note. company sources and court cases reviewed by Reuters. "At current prices, most U.S. onshore operators are eco- But those cases can take years to work their way through nomic, leaving a vast group of operators, from large pub- Brazil's crowded courts, the interviews and legal records lic companies to private players, in good position to ramp show. Even victories don't bring swift relief. up activity in 2H21 and build solid momentum for higher "Non-compliant (franchisees) typically take advantage of volumes in 2022," they said. all sorts of legal maneuvers to delay compliance with ju- The bank now forecasts U.S. crude oil production to aver- dicial decisions," a spokeswoman for BR wrote in an e- age 11.78 million barrels per day (bpd) in December

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2021, up 710,000 bpd year-on-year. regions "have actually seen an increase in drilling" with The bank projects U.S. tight oil production to average the Haynesville Shale in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas 11.36 million bpd in 2021, compared to 11.32 million bpd up three to 52 rigs and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylva- last year. nia, Ohio and West Virginia up two to 44 rigs. Earlier this week, the Energy Information Administration Enverus said companies that have added the most rigs said U.S. crude oil production is expected to fall by year-over-year include Marcellus and Haynesville produc- 160,000 bpd in 2021 to 11.15 million bpd, a smaller de- ers like CNX Resources Corp (from zero to two), National cline than its previous monthly forecast for a 290,000-bpd Fuel Gas Co (from one to three) in the Marcellus and drop. Comstock Resources Inc (from five to seven). Oil prices have staged a spectacular recovery since hit- The biggest year-over-year declines came from Exxon ting record lows last year at the height of the COVID-19 Mobil Corp (down 57 rigs to just eight now), ConocoPhil- pandemic. lips (down 21 to 14) and Chevron Corp (down 19 to nine). U.S. WTI crude futures which traded at about -$40 a bar- rel in April 2020, bounced back by nearly 270% from those lows, trading at nearly $68 a barrel on March 8. Argentine energy giant YPF sticks with $2.7 bln capex plan despite debt woes Argentine state oil giant YPF said on Friday it would U.S. oil & gas rig count falls for first time since No- maintain its $2.7 billion 2021 investment plan despite only vember -Baker Hughes partially resolving a recent debt crisis, with $1.3 billion of U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil and natural gas the spending for shale oil and gas production at Vaca rigs operating for the first time since November even as Muerta. crude prices soared to their highest since 2018. The investment represents an 73% increase versus 2020, The U.S. oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future when the firm suffered a severe blow from the drop in output, fell by one to 402 in the week to March 12, ac- international oil prices and lower demand due to the coro- cording to data on Friday from energy services firm navirus pandemic. Baker Hughes Co. YPF, which leads activity in Vaca Muerta, one of the larg- That count is 390 rigs, or 49%, below this time last year. est shale formations in the world, restructured a portion of The oil and gas rig count, however, has increased for the its debt last month, but fell well short of a larger plan to past seven months since dropping to a record low of 244 free up its financing amid a squeeze from the central in August, according to Baker Hughes data going back to bank on access to foreign currency. 1940. "In order to make this ambitious activity recovery plan U.S. oil rigs fell one to 309 this week, while gas rigs were viable, YPF will maintain strict discipline in managing unchanged at 92. costs, seeking to improve operational efficiencies," YPF U.S. crude futures soared to almost $68 a barrel this said in a statement. week, their highest since 2018. Prices rebounded from Vaca Muerta, the size of Belgium, is the world's fourth last year's crash, spurred by the coronavirus pandemic's largest unconventional oil reserve and the second largest demand destruction. = for gas. YPF said it would drill 180 new wells in the area. This week, the government revised down 2021's decline The oil company reported at the beginning of the month expected in crude production. Output is seen falling that it had a net profit of $539 million in the fourth quarter 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.15 million of 2020, reversing the trend of big losses that it had the bpd, a smaller decrease than its previous monthly fore- rest of last year as a result of the pandemic. cast for a 290,000-bpd drop. The plan includes investing $800 million in conventional Before the pandemic, companies were cutting rigs about hydrocarbons and $600 million in gas this year. four rigs on a weekly basis over the prior year to focus on boosting cash flow, reducing debt and increasing share- holder returns. Oil producer Ovintiv nears south Texas asset sale for But a year ago, rig declines accelerated to an average of over $800 mln - sources 45 per week from late March through early June, until Oil producer Ovintiv Inc is in advanced talks with a pri- higher prices in August spurred drillers to return to the vately owned energy investment firm to sell its holding in wellpad. a south Texas shale basin for more than $800 million, Enverus, which has its own rig count that showed drop of sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. two as of March 10, noted "This week marks one year The sale of its Eagle Ford acreage would mark a mile- since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 stone for Denver-based Ovintiv, which is on a multi-year a pandemic and one year since companies started look- debt reduction plan it outlined in February. The plan in- ing to shed rigs." cludes generating about $1 billion from divesting assets. In the last year, however, Enverus said two gas-focused Ovintiv's shares have gained over 90% so far this year, amid a broad rally in oil producers aided by rising U.S.

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crude prices. above the previous pump prices of around 167 naira. The prospective buyer is Pontem Energy Capital, which is After local media reported the post, some consumers run by Felix Energy founder Skye Callantine, Jeff Bartlett flocked to fuel stations, prompting a sharp rise in prices at and Cameron Brown, the sources said. some, and others to stop selling amid the confusion. While there is no guarantee that the deal will go through, In Lagos, at least two stations were charging 248 naira it could be announced as early as next week, according to per litre, compared with 167 naira on Thursday. one of the sources. Nigeria is struggling to balance a promise to eliminate The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as the costly fuel subsidies with public anger over more expen- information is not public yet. Ovintiv declined to comment, sive fuel. while Pontem did not immediately respond to a request Oil prices have risen about 25% since the beginning of for comment. February, but state oil company NNPC vowed prices The Eagle Ford position, which was bought in 2014 for would not increase in March, meaning that it could be about $3.1 billion from Freeport-McMoRan Inc, attracted losing millions daily on gasoline imports. multiple private equity bidders, the sources said. Following the public backlash - and statements from Pontem's bid was well above rivals, according to two of NNPC, the petroleum minister and a presidential spokes- the sources. man that higher prices were not approved - PPPRA re- The Eagle Ford asset sale, which Reuters first reported moved its post about the guidance for ex-depot prices. was underway in November, would be the latest step NNPC is currently the only gasoline importer due to the Ovintiv has taken to cut down debt and gain investor con- state-controlled ex-depot price that is keeping levels artifi- fidence. cially low. It has said it is consulting with unions to agree While many U.S. shale producers have generated below a formula that allows gasoline prices to float, but still pro- par returns in recent years, Ovintiv also drew shareholder tects consumers. ire for its acquisition of Newfield Exploration, which left it In mid February, fuel marketers estimated gasoline was with nearly $7 billion in debt, and high executive pay. costing NNPC some 1.2 billion naira ($3.2 million) per Ovintiv was targeted by activist investor Kimmeridge En- day, a huge risk to government finances. Eliminating sub- ergy Management last year, which led to a proxy fight and sidies was among conditions for a $1.5 billion World Bank the company agreeing earlier this month to add one of the budget support loan. investor's nominees to its board. In February, Ovintiv introduced changes including aligning management pay with climate change targets and came Mexican president says 'very large' oil field found in up with a revised plan to cut its debt by around 35% to Tabasco state $4.5 billion, while also selling its Duvernay assets in Al- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said berta. on Friday a "very large" oil discovery had been made in Tabasco, his home state in southern Mexico, as the gov- ernment tries to revive crude output at state oil company Nigeria says no increase in pump prices after regula- Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). Lopez Obrador revealed tor sparks confusion the discovery during a regular morning news conference, Nigeria has not increased gasoline pump prices, its fuel but gave no further details. "We discovered a very large regulator said on Friday, after sparking confusion at field in Tabasco," he said. stations and a public backlash by apparently flagging a Still, a source at Pemex told Reuters that the find was big rise was on the cards. both "new and important". Lopez Obrador said more de- "There is no price increase. The current (gasoline) price is tails would come on March 18 in Tabasco, where he is being maintained while consultations are being conclud- due to mark the anniversary of the 1938 nationalization of ed," the Petroleum Products Pricing Agency (PPPRA) the oil industry. The event would be held at the Dzimpona said in a statement. On Thursday, the regulator posted -1EXP onshore well in Tabasco, the source said. In an online notice listing the "guiding price" for "ex-depot", 2019, Pemex announced the discovery of a separate or wholesale, gasoline at 206.42 naira per litre - well large oil field also in Tabasco.

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(Inside Oil - Asia Edition is compiled by Jerin Tom Joshy in Bengaluru) Refinitiv 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036 For questions or comments about this report, contact: [email protected] Please visit: Refinitiv for more information. To subscribe to Asia Oil newsletter, click here. Privacy statement

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