Mexico's Pemex to halt projects amid tumbling oil prices

Mexico's state oil company Pemex said Wednesday it is suspending some deep water exploration projects and slashing jobs amid lowered global crude prices.
Other exploration, such as ultra-low sulfur fuel projects, will be postponed following budget cuts, Pemex chief executive officer Emilio Lozoya said on Radio Formula.
"The exploration of some deep water deposits, especially the riskier ones and those that have not yet begun, will be suspended," Lozoya said.
He added there would be "major" job cuts, though he did not specify how many people could lose their positions.
Pemex, the world's seventh largest oil producer, has been in the red since 2013, reporting $4.3 billion in losses in the third quarter last year.
This week, the company said it was slashing its budget by 11.5 percent.   
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has pushed an energy reform bill through Congress to break up the decades-old Pemex monopoly and invite foreign investment back in the country in a bid to reverse a production decline.
Mexico's crude averaged $86 per barrel in 2014 but has suffered from a dip in oil prices worldwide.
Global oil prices have been under pressure for months, plunging about 60 percent to just over $40 a barrel between June and the end of January.
On Tuesday, Mexican oil closed at $50.57.