PEMEX Gears Up to Increase Gas Capture to 98 Percent in 2024

PEMEX plans to increase gas capture in 2024, as the company said it will invest US$3.78 billion to increase the share of natural gas it captures instead of needing to flare it to 98 percent. The investment plan comprises both PEMEX’s resources as well as international credits for the refurbishment of Papan. As of 2022, PEMEX reported that it captures 93 percent of its emissions; the NOC reduced its emissions by 30 percent during 2Q22.

Over the past two years, PEMEX has carried out 152 maintenance jobs, built infrastructure, constructed pipelines and acquired equipment to reduce its emissions. The company plans to build a separation battery in Ixachi as well as complete the Papan Measurement and Control Station (EMC) and provide maintenance to nearby pipelines. At Quesqui, PEMEX plans to build a separation battery for Tecominoacán and Jujo and similar reconditioning to those of Ixachi. Additionally, it plans the adjustment of the separation batteries of Tupilco and Cárdenas Norte.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador discussed PEMEX’s plans to reduce flaring, emphasizing the Campeche Bank as one of the zones with the highest levels of pollution. The NOC plans to achieve its plans by acquiring financial support from international bodies focused on development. The president said that PEMEX CEO Octavio Romero Oropeza will further explain these plans.

PEMEX announced that it plans to spend US$12 billion on its environmental strategy, which includes a US$5.66 billion investment to phase out fuel oil production via two new coker plants at the Tula and Salina Cruz refineries that are expected to go online in 2024. Furthermore, Romero announced that by January 2023, the Ixachi field would stop flaring altogether. The EMC project was expected to be able to process 150MMcf and by January 15, 2023, to reach 300MMcf. Whether this has been achieved remains unclear.

Toward the end of 2022, Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s Foreign Minister, made a major announcement at COP27. Ebrard promised that Mexico would reduce flaring and increase its cut in emissions from 22 percent to 33 percent by 2030.