Nuevo Leon pushes for one-year 4-for-3 extension

The government of northern Mexico's Nuevo Leon state is pushing legislators to sell natural gas to local industrialists at US$4.00 per 1 million BTUs (mBTU), local newspaper El Norte reported. The price is the same as in the "four-for-three" deal, under which state oil company Pemex sells gas at US$4/mBTU in the three years and which expires year-end. "The request is to extend the price for a year," the paper quoted state economic development secretary Eloy Cantu Segovia as saying in, adding "We cannot stand here helplessly in a situation that is so bad for our companies." Pemex recently offered companies long-term contracts for roughly US$4.40/mBTU, but nearly 75% of Nuevo Leon industrialists rejected the scheme, saying it was too expensive.