CRE Faces Criticism Due to Inspections, Closures

According to industry experts, officials from CRE are making it difficult to issue new permits for the sale of fuels, while they also carry out inspections in order to find inconsistencies, revoke permits and thus cancel operations of companies in the hydrocarbon sector.

Around 35 companies operating fuel terminals throughout the national territory, all of them Mexican, mostly with permits valid until 2040, remain on the list to be visited by CRE officials without knowing the details of the inspections. "They (CRE) never publish or inform about the visit orders and what they are going to review. Companies are in a very delicate situation; they feel threatened. The other important thing is that once they find inconsistencies, they are supposed to give them days to rectify them, but they take it upon themselves and do not apply said regulations. What they do is close the facilities, thus affecting everyone,” says José Ángel Vela, energy sector consultant.

CRE recently suspended its scheduling scheme used during the pandemic, making regulated organizations concerned over the resolution of pending procedures. CRE published an agreement that invalidates the A/001/2021 scheme, published in January 2021, through which it suspended deadlines and terms in acts and proceedings. The canceled scheme considered any actions, requirements, requests or submissions made before CRE on hold, to be revisited at a time when the federal health authority or Mexico City authorities considered the epidemiological risk to be over.

The new agreement, A/023/2023, also invalidates the A/004/2023 scheme, through which legal deadlines and terms were resumed in an "orderly and staggered" manner. The latter agreement sparked significant controversy, with experts warning that it would further hinder CRE's ability to process permits. The delays had already caused tension between the US and Canada, as it was seen as a part of Mexico's uncompetitive energy policy. CRE would only admit a limited number of applications per month: 50 for hydrocarbons, 120 for pre-registration and 15 for electricity.

In its first session of August 2023, CRE approved only 13 permits out of more than 7,000 requests. Commissioners discussed a total of 23 topics, with just one related to oil products. Despite the significant backlog that accumulates month after month, no permits for public sale of oil products were granted. One legal matter was addressed, initiating an administrative sanction process in the hydrocarbons sector.