Petroleos Mexicanos -PEMEX- Licenses OpenLink's Endur; Implementation to Streamline the Processing of Natural Gas Transactions

Business Wire, Oct 4, 2004

HOUSTON -- OpenLink (www.olf.com), a leading provider of energy and financial trading and risk management software solutions, announced today that Mexican state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), one of the world's largest petroleum companies, has licensed its Endur energy trading and risk management solution for PEMEX Gas Petroquimica Basica (PGPB), the company's natural gas division.

PGPB will utilize Endur to manage its physical and financial natural gas transactions, including the identification and documentation of hedges that fall under FAS 133 requirements. The division globally ranks among the top ten natural gas producers and the top five in natural gas liquids (NGLs), and operates an extensive network of pipelines, which makes it one of the top ten transporters of natural gas in North America.

The increased volatility and complexity of the natural gas markets were the catalyst for PEMEX's decision to change their trading and risk management IT capabilities. After identifying an aggressive forward-looking business strategy, the company realized that they would need to replace the multiple in-house systems used to manage and report on positions with a single, comprehensive software solution. At the completion of a thorough evaluation and due diligence process, Endur was selected in part because of its ability to provide the company's senior management with in-depth real-time reports, but paramount to this decision was the system's information transparency and system security.

The implementation, already under way at PEMEX's headquarters in Mexico City, includes an interface to the company's SAP accounting system. "Endur's functionality--specifically, its access to data captured, calculated, and used in reporting--drew high ratings, but the system's ability to interface with other software packages moved us to the forefront," said Matt Frye, managing director of OpenLink's Houston division.

PEMEX's signing highlights a rebound that OpenLink has witnessed in the global demand for energy straight-through-processing trading and risk management systems. "We are seeing a renewed commitment to IT projects by energy firms both in North America and abroad," said Coleman Fung, OpenLink's founder and CEO. "Forward-looking organizations, like PEMEX, are again starting to make strategic investments in technology. We welcome PEMEX to our growing family of OpenLink clients and look forward to a long and productive partnership."

About Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX)

Petroleos Mexicanos, a Mexican state-owned oil company, accounts for one-third of the government's revenues and 7% of its export earnings. Responsible for the management of Mexico's vast hydrocarbon resources and the production of crude, PEMEX is the sixth largest oil company in the world, third in its annual production of crude, and tenth in proven crude reserves. An integrated energy company, it has operations spread throughout Mexico, which range from exploration and production to refining and petrochemicals.

About OpenLink

Founded in 1992, OpenLink is a leading provider of trading, risk management, and operations software solutions. The company's Adaptive, Dynamic, and Integration-enabling (ADI) Framework-based solutions support the most rigorous business requirements of firms trading in energy, interest rate derivatives, fixed income securities, foreign exchange, money markets, metals, and soft commodities. OpenLink's global client base includes American Electric Power, Banco de Mexico, Bank of America, Bank for International Settlements, Bank of Canada, Bank of Scotland Treasury PLC, Barclays Capital Markets, Bridgeline Holdings, Deutsche Bank, Edison International, Enbridge, Mirant, Nexen, Shell, and Vattenfall Europe Trading. Headquartered in Long Island, New York, and with offices in London, Houston, New York City, Berlin, Sydney, Sao Paulo, and Tokyo, OpenLink employs more than 270 professionals worldwide.