Mexican state energy company Pemex is set to accelerate and process 1.7 million barrels per day (BPD) of crude oil at the end of the year in its six local refineries, the company’s chief executive officer said on Monday, March 18th
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Under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Pemex has been under pressure to pump and refine more as he seeks to make the country self-sufficient in energy.
Speaking alongside Lopez Obrador at Pemex’s headquarters during an event to commemorate the 1938 expropriation of foreign oil, Octavio Romero said the company he had inherited heavily indebted has changed course.
“The next government will receive a stronger Pemex, with growing production and reserves, with six rehabilitated refineries and two new ones … with lower debt and fiscal responsibilities,” Romero said.
Romero said he expects the company’s financial debt to close at $94.5 billion at the end of 2024, and that there were no plans to issue new debt in the final months of the government of Lopez Obrador.
Pemex’s financial debt closed last year at $106.1 billion, making it the world’s most indebted energy company.
Presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum, who represents the ruling party and is leading the polls ahead of a June election, vowed at a different event later on Monday to accelerate the energy transition.
“Renewable energies will be a trademark of my government,” she said, presenting her plan for the future of Pemex, the largest contributor to state coffers.
Sheinbaum, who vowed to be a guardian of Lopez Obrador’s legacy, added that 1.8 million bpd of crude oil as well as solar, wind, and water, among others, would bring the country closer to become self-sufficient.
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