Deer Park Paralyzed During Winter Storm

The ongoing Elliot winter storm passing through Texas has affected Deer Park’s operations. The storm has affected a large part of the NOC’s steam supply units at the refinery, closing it for the weekend.

PEMEX bought half of the Deer Park refinery at the beginning of 2022. PEMEX CEO, Octavio Romero Oropeza, has stated that the acquisition of Deer Park turned out to be a great decision since it is already yielding a return on the roughly US$1.5 billion investment. The refinery is also contributing to energy security. According to Alberto Velázquez, Director of Commerce, PEMEX, the refinery is expected to send 100 percent of its production to Mexico by 1H24, contributing to energy sovereignty. The acquisition of this refinery doubled PEMEX’s refining capacity, taking production from 519Mb/d to 1.98Bb/d over the past three years.

The refinery currently sends 25 percent of its production back to Mexico. Deer Park’s closing might affect fuel prices, which have just started to decrease after an all-time-high throughout the year due to international conflict and the economy's slowdown. The NOC had recently reported a decrease in revenue despite higher sales of gasoline and diesel, following lower prices in fuels.

Temperatures in Texas dropped up to 47°C over the weekend. Although President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied the situation saying he met with Deer Park’s director, he admitted that things might have changed after the meeting.

Furthermore, it was recently published that PEMEX has spent MX$3.3 million (US$17,094) on air travel to the Texas refinery since its acquisition. Said figure and more information about per diem spending was released by PEMEX under a citizen’s request since no information was available despite being required by law.