Ex-Im Bank loan to Mexican oil company boon to U.S. shippers

Ex-Im Bank loan to Mexican oil company boon to U.S. shippers    The U.S. Export-Import Bank has approved a $287.3-million long-term loan to Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) in Mexico, which the bank says will generate $338 million in sales of U.S. equipment and services from more than 50 companies.
   The big U.S. companies participating in the export sale to Pemex are Dresser Rand Co., Olean, N.Y.; Halliburton Energy Services, Houston; Kvaerner US, Houston; Noble Mexico Ltd., Houston; Pride Offshore, Houma, La.; Schlumberger Technology Corp., Sugar Land, Texas; and Solar Turbines, San Diego, Calif.
   The Ex-Im Bank said numerous small U.S. companies, such as Jens Oilfield Services, Edinburg, Texas; Hot-Hed International, Houston; and Nao, Philadelphia, are also suppliers under the Pemex loan.
   Pemex, Mexico’s government-owned oil and gas production company, plans to use the equipment to develop the Sihil block of the Cantarell oil field, Mexico’s largest oil field. The field is located in the Bay of Campeche off the coast of Yucatan in the Gulf of Mexico.
   Ex-Im Bank has authorized three previous financing transactions related to the Cantarell project. The guaranteed lender on the current transaction is ABN AMRO Bank in Chicago.
   In fiscal year 2003, Ex-Im Bank, an independent federal agency, authorized financing to support $14.3 billion of U.S. exports worldwide.