PEMEX Crude Export Reduction Begins to Show

With the aim of eventually stopping crude oil exports entirely, PEMEX exported 20 percent less barrel exports in January 2022 compared to December 2021. The Mexican government is trying to reduce oil exports this year as part of its plan to reach energy sovereignty and the NOC now follows suit, amid a budding increase in production.

The state-owned company sent 832Mb/d abroad last month, which represents a 20 percent decrease compared to what it reported in December 2021. For these exports, PEMEX received an income of US$1.95 million, 10 percent less than in December of last year, when it earned US$2.17 million. The exports of heavy oil reached 249Mb/d, whereas light crude reached 584Mb/d, according to the NOC’s reports. January’s income for exports amounted to US$1.95 billion.

The region where the NOC has mostly reduced crude exports is Asia, from 348Mb/d being exported in December 2021 down to only 95Mb/d in January 2022, a reduction of 72.7 percent. Recently, MBN reported that PEMEX called Indian oil refiners to notify them of the coming volume reduction. What is more, only 126Mb/d of the NOC’s exports reached Europe, a decline of 28.4 percent compared to the previous month. In Contrast, exports to the US increased by 19.3 percent, as the US remains PEMEX’s biggest client.

Crude production remained stable in January 2022: the NOC extracted 1.684MMb/d, a tiny increase in comparison to December 2021. The NOC’s gasoline production in January 2022 increased 20 percent compared to January 2021, recording the highest production during Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s term. Total gasoline production reached 271.2Mb/d, 6.19 percent more in comparison to the same month last year, when production reached 255.4Mb/d.

PEMEX CEO Octavio Romero Oropeza highlighted that a change of strategy in exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons has allowed the NOC to turn around a decreasing production trend that long bothered the company during previous administrations. Although it managed to increase production levels, PEMEX reported losses of US$10.9 billion during 2021, this despite heavy government support. Still, this loss was 55.9 percent less than that of the previous year.

The Mexican government’s goal is to gradually start cutting all crude exports, aiming to completely suspend them by 2023 to drive forward the refinery business toward achieving energy sovereignty. The administration plans on having PEMEX export an average of 435Mb/d by the end of the year, according to Forbes.