Mexico.- The Dos Bocas refinery could cost 40% more than expected and is unlikely to be completed by 2022, which would imply exceeding the initial budget by 3.6 billion dollars and failing to meet the goal of the AMLO government.
According to an investigation by Bloomberg News, it is very likely that the original budget of 8.9 billion dollars for the construction of the Dos Bocas refinery will be exceeded by up to 40%, reaching a total cost of about 12 thousand 500 million dollars.
The mega-project of the AMLO government, which is crucial for the objective of Pemex of not exporting more oil in 2023 so that Mexico achieves self-sufficiency in fuel supply, goes through difficulties that could delay its inaugurationn.
Read more: It was a good operation! AMLO celebrates total purchase of Deer Park refinery in Texas
Although AMLO’s goal is for the refinery located in Tabasco to start operating in July 2022, the agency warned that its construction would be delayed due to the increase in the costs of materials and a initial budget “unrealistic”.
“The project may not produce a single gallon of gasoline in 2022 and could produce only limited amounts of fuel for several years afterward, according to some analysts,” Bloomberg noted.
But the Dos Bocas refinery is not the only Pemex plant that will cost more than initially estimated, since the oil company had to pay more than double the advertised price for the purchase of the refinery in deer park, Texas, which ended up costing more than $1.5 billion.
The AMLO government would have given Pemex 5.9 billion dollars (about 120.9 billion pesos) until December 2021, and this year it allocated another 2.2 billion dollars for the project, raising spending to 8.1 billion dollars, said the expert in energy and public finances from the Center for Economic and Budgetary Research in CDMX, Joel Tonatiuh Vázquez Pérez.
“If the projected spending pace is maintained and construction continues through 2023, you will almost certainly exceed your budget estimates previous“Bloomberg noted.
Read more: Fuels today: prices per liter in Mexico January 21, 2022
Karina López Huitron, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, explained that with the delays, the Dos Bocas refinery could start up its key gasoline units in operation by 2023, but it would be fully operational by 2025, a date very far from the goal of the López government. Obrador, who insists on opening the work in July 2022.
.
#Dos #Bocas #Refinery #cost #expected #delays #Bloomberg