The general manager of Mexican oil (Pemex), Octavio Romero Oropeza, announced this Friday that the Olmeca Dos Bocas refinerylocated in Paraíso, Tabasco, will reach a production of 340 thousand barrels per day (mbd) in September of this year.
During the morning press conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, at the National Palace, Romero Oropeza presented a detailed report on the current situation of Pemex and projections for the end of the Administration.
According to the data provided by the official, total refining production in Mexico will increase from 1,202 million barrels per day (MBD) in the first half of 2024 to 1,702 million barrels per day (MBD) in September, an increase driven mainly by the entry into operation of Dos Bocas.
“We managed to rescue @Pemex. We increased hydrocarbon production from 1,642 mbd in 2018 to 1,852 mbd in 2024; proven reserves to 7,500 mbd; we reduced its debt by 24.9% (-32.9 billion dollars); refining increased threefold to 1,761 mbd in 2024. By the end of 2024 we will be completely self-sufficient,” highlighted the presidential spokesman, Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, on his social networks.
This increase in refining capacity is part of a broader strategy to achieve fuel self-sufficiency, a key goal of the current government.
“By September, only 52,000 barrels per day will be purchased, and in the first quarter of 2025, with the full entry into operation of the Tula coking plant, we will have achieved 98 percent self-sufficiency in fuel,” said Romero Oropeza.
Meanwhile, President López Obrador highlighted the achievements of his administration in the energy sector, contrasting them with the policies of previous governments.
“We can say that Pemex was rescued “Because the purpose of the neoliberal neo-Porfirian policy, the privatization policy that they imposed in the last 36 years, from 1983 to 2018, had as its main objective to disappear, destroy Pemex, as well as the Federal Electricity Commission,” declared the president.
Pemex bailout
The general director of Petróleos Mexicanos assured that the oil company’s finances and production were rescued during his administration.
However, it postponed President López Obrador’s goal of producing all fuels for the domestic market until 2025.
“This was the instruction that Mr. President gave us: to rescue Pemex to achieve self-sufficiency in fuels. I believe that we will have fulfilled the mandate, Mr. President,” he said to López Obrador.
Romero Oropeza stressed that the state-owned company’s finances have recovered, contrary to the claims that “Pemex is in debt, that it is a bankrupt company, that it cannot afford it.”
This achievement is the result of the support that Pemex received “like never before in history” during López Obrador’s term, between 2018 and 2024, the federal official stressed.
Pemex debt
Pemex’s debt went from $132.3 billion in 2018 to $99.4 billion in 2024, which represented a reduction of almost 25 percent during its administration, equivalent to a decrease of $32.9 billion.
However, Octavio Romero pointed out that the goal of producing all the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the domestic market in Mexico will not be met until after the first quarter of 2025, once López Obrador’s six-year term has concluded.
The delay is due to the completion of renovations at the Tula coking plant in the state of Hidalgo, as well as the later entry into operation of the Olmeca refinery, promoted by President López Obrador in southeastern Mexico.
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