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Production at Mexico’s Cantarell oil complex, one of the world’s largest, has plummeted by a third in the past year, an indication the country could lose self-sufficiency in oil in the medium term.

Average daily production dropped to slightly more than 1m barrels a day in May compared with more than 1.6m b/d in the same month last year, according to the energy ministry.

This was somewhat expected as we knew Mexico's oil production capabilities were dwindling, but considering the large jump in oil prices it's surprising to see such a drop-off in production. Looks like the socialized, monopolistic approach to gas and oil that Mexico has taken will fail in the not too distant future. This is actually a big deal to the U.S., as we greatly rely on Mexican oil. The most likely course of action is that we will continue raising demand for oil in the middle east and Venezuela (oh fun!). The U.S. needs to realize that buying oil from state oil companies around the world is extremely dangerous, unreliable, and extremely costly. The majority of Alaskans as well as the Alaskan governor support opening ANWR, yet all the talk today that is about potential drilling in the U.S. seems to be regarding offshore.

One thing is clear: renewable energy is not going to save the U.S. anytime soon. I don't know why or how people see renewable energy as a short-term answer. Think about it, even with federal subsidies, tax breaks, and record high energy prices, renewable energy still has not made a dent in the energy market. Renewable energy might be a long-term answer, I can't say. I'm just amazed that people look at it as such an option without realizing how incredibly expensive it is. The federal subsidies and tax breaks still haven't made it very competitive and people still rely on gasoline. I don't know, it's just a frustrating thing to see this blind support for "renewable energy" when it's been a huge waste of time and money when the government tries to create the industry. Let the market decide.