Oil Leak in Manzanillo: The Week in O&G

An oily slick was detected in the Bay of Manzanillo on the night of June 2, prompting SEMAR to activate its hydrocarbon contingency plan after ASIPONA reported iridescence concentrated around the perimeter barriers of PEMEX's maritime terminal. PEMEX confirmed it is conducting pipeline inspections but stated that reviews on June 2 and 3 found its facilities operating under normal conditions with no confirmed link to the event.

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New Oil Slick in Manzanillo Raises Pattern Concerns for PEMEX

A joint SEMARNAT, PROFEPA, ASIPONA, and Civil Protection pipeline inspection was scheduled for June 4. The incident follows the same institutional script used in the early days of the Gulf of Mexico spill in February, including inspections, no confirmed link, facilities operating normally, a framing that proved incomplete when PEMEX only acknowledged that event as a pipeline failure in April. A Moody's report published one week prior explicitly flagged that reduced capital spending increases the risk of explosions and containment failures at PEMEX's downstream operations, a warning directly relevant to aging marine terminal infrastructure.

Moody's Issuer Report: Government Support Holds PEMEX at B1, But Operations Keep Deteriorating

Moody's Issuer In-Depth report on PEMEX, authored by Roxana Muñoz and Marcos Schmidt, confirms that the B1 rating is entirely sustained by government support, US$40 billion in federal interventions in 2025 alone, and cannot reverse the company's operational decline. Upstream, major producing fields are declining at double-digit annual rates on a production-weighted basis in the low 20% range, while capital investment contracted approximately 51% in real terms in early 2026. The approximately 10 mixed development contracts awarded to date project only 76Mb/d in incremental output, insufficient to alter the production trajectory. Downstream, the energy sovereignty policy of redirecting crude to domestic refineries structurally weakens PEMEX's exposure to elevated international prices, while IEPS fuel subsidies prevent the company from capturing margin windfalls. Moody's explicitly links reduced capital spending to higher operational safety risks, including explosions, a connection validated by three PEMEX facility fires and the Gulf of Mexico spill in 2026 alone.

PEMEX April Exports: Europe Becomes Top Buyer for First Time in 36 Years

PEMEX exported 418.2Mb/d in April 2026 at an average price of US$94/b, its highest export revenue since May 2025. For the first time in at least 36 years, Europe surpassed the Americas as PEMEX's top export region, absorbing 181.4Mb/d (43.4% of total), compared to 173.3Mb/d for the Americas (41.4%). The shift reflects both deliberate export diversification in the context of USMCA pressure and the near-disappearance of Asian demand in early 2026. April's volume remains approximately 20% below the SHCP's 521Mb/d export target for the year, a gap that is structural rather than circumstantial, rooted in the decision to redirect 69% of crude output to domestic refineries. The SHCP's own Pre-Criteria 2027 has since lowered the export forecast to 427Mb/d for 2027, formally acknowledging that the 2026 target is unachievable. January exports hit a 30-year low of 294.4Mb/d, making the April figure a partial recovery driven almost entirely by price.

IMP and UNAI Formalize Alliance for Energy Transition Research and Technology Transfer

The Mexican Petroleum Institute and the National Engineer Associations Unit (UNAI) signed a General Collaboration Agreement on June 3 covering joint research, technology development, specialized talent formation, technology transfer and commercialization, and the promotion of strategic energy projects. UNAI's most distinctive contribution is its COP accreditation under the UNFCCC, giving IMP a formal channel into international climate negotiations that its own institutional mandate does not cover. The agreement is the latest in a series of IMP partnerships formalized under Director General Elizabeth Mar, following similar agreements with CIDESI, Tecnológico Nacional de México, and Concanaco Servytur. IMP holds a six-decade portfolio of proprietary technologies in catalysis, refining, heavy crude treatment, CO2 capture, and increasingly hydrogen and geothermal applications, which have historically moved slowly from lab to industrial deployment — making technology transfer and commercialization channels through partner networks a stated strategic priority for the institution.