Mexico says oil exports to fall sharply by 2017

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Mexico said Wednesday that rising domestic consumption will cause oil exports to drop by about 5.3 percent annually over the next decade, although the country hopes to increase crude production to just over 3 million barrels per day by 2017.

Average production for 2008 will be about 2.8 million barrels a day, according to a 10-year planning report from the Energy Department. The country hopes to average 2.9 million daily over the next 10 years, though that's still down from 3.1 million last year.

The projections are posited on reversing a steady decline caused by falling output at aging offshore fields like Cantarell.

The Energy Department said it expects increased exploration and investment in the state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, will yield an annual average increase of 0.7 percent in oil production between 2008 and 2017.

The department projects average annual investments in exploration and production of 208 billion pesos ($15.5 billion) per year.

Oil revenues make up 40 percent of the federal budget.