Dos Bocas Exports First ULSD Shipment

Mexico exported a shipment of ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) produced at the Olmeca refinery in Dos Bocas, Tabasco, due to lacking domestic infrastructure to distribute the fuel nationally as intended in the country’s self-sufficiency strategy, according to Reuters.

The refinery received high-sulfur diesel from PEMEX’s Madero refinery in Tamaulipas for reprocessing into ULSD, though the Olmeca facility's own fuel output remains limited. The Danish-flagged tanker Torm Singapore loaded approximately 300Mb of ULSD via a single buoy mooring system off the Dos Bocas port, according to LSEG tracking data. The vessel later delivered portions of the cargo to Port Canaveral, Florida, and Yabucoa, Puerto Rico.

This marked the first ULSD shipment from the Dos Bocas refinery, based on LSEG data compiled since early 2024. It is not clear whether PEMEX will continue ULSD exports from Olmeca.

According to a source, the refinery lacks adequate pipeline and rail infrastructure to distribute large volumes of fuel domestically. There are also insufficient tanker trucks to cover the required distribution. An internal document cited by Reuters highlighted that the decision to build the refinery at the Dos Bocas port posed a long-term cost and logistical challenge due to this infrastructure deficit. Distributing the volume equivalent of the exported cargo would have required about 1,300 tanker trucks.

Since its launch, Olmeca has also produced petroleum coke, a common byproduct during refinery startup operations. The refinery’s first export of this product was to India in September 2023.

In terms of domestic processing, PEMEX reported that the National Refining System (SNR) processed 898.153Mb/d of crude oil in February, operating at 45% of total capacity. The Olmeca refinery processed 6.797Mb/d in that month, amounting to 2% of its capacity.

Before the inclusion of Dos Bocas, refinery utilization was higher, reaching 55%, as reported by El Economista, in August 2023 across the six existing refineries. Since then, scheduled maintenance, crude shortages and equipment stoppages, particularly for coking unit installations in Salina Cruz and Tula, have lowered overall refining activity.