Gasoline Production Hits Lowest Levels Since 2020

PEMEX’s gasoline production reached its lowest level since October 2020. The NOC’s refining business continues to struggle despite Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration’s efforts to increase gasoline output. 

According to data from the state-owned company, gasoline production in the National Refining System (SNR) reached 167.8Mb/d, compared to 282.6Mb/d a year ago. As a result, PEMEX's annual production levels in 2023 are declining compared to 2022, despite investments made this year in refinery modernization.

The NOC also produced more fuel oil than Magna and Premium gasoline in the tenth month of the year, a recurring issue in the company's refineries. Fuel oil production totaled 180Mb/d, according to PEMEX's monthly production statistics. 

In October, the Francisco I. Madero Refinery of the state-owned company operated at only 2% of its capacity. According to PEMEX, the plant produced only 3.655Mb/d of petroleum products, representing just 1.92% of the refinery's total capacity, set at 190Mb/d. The oil company's data indicates that during this period, gasoline production at the plant, which is nearly 110 years old, was zero, a situation that also occurred with diesel.

The month's production focused on 1.511Mb/d of fuel oil and 2.122Mb/d of other products. The production decline in Madero had a domino effect on the rest of the SNR. In its monthly report, PEMEX detailed that the total production of petroleum products fell to 683.1Mb/d, a monthly decrease of 143Mb/d. 

During CNH’s 15th anniversary, PEMEX Director Octavio Romero insisted that self-sufficiency would be mostly achieved by the end of this six-year term. He claimed that the administration has already completed the Olmeca Refinery and reiterated that in the coming weeks, it will produce 340Mb/d of refined products. He added that by September of the next year, "we will be very close to self-sufficiency." 

However, data does not support Romero’s calculations. According to the company's monthly information at the end of October, an average of 648.4Mb/d of gasoline, both Magna and Premium, were sold in the domestic market, while production averaged 253.4Mb/d. In addition, gasoline imports in the first 10 months of the year amounted to 394.2Mb/d, meaning 60.7% of the total was imported.

If national consumption remains constant, gasoline production would have to reach 518.7Mb/d for domestic production to represent 80% of national consumption. This suggests almost doubling gasoline production in the next 10 months.