PEMEX Reports 2025: Lower Debt, Surge in Refining

PEMEX closed 2025 with its lowest financial debt in 11 years, marking a turning point for the state oil company after years of mounting liabilities, supplier arrears, and credit downgrades. Presenting its 4Q25 and full-year results, PEMEX reported a set of improvements spanning debt management, refining performance, and fuel sales, outcomes the company attributes to its Comprehensive Capitalization and Financing Strategy, developed in coordination with the Ministry of Finance (SHCP) and the Ministry of Energy.

Total financial debt closed at US$84.5 billion, down from US$97.6 billion at the end of 2024, representing a 13% reduction year-on-year and a 19% decline compared to 2018 levels, marking the fifth consecutive year of debt reduction. The strategy centered on planned bond refinancing and buyback operations that smoothed out debt maturities scheduled between 2026 and 2028, meaningfully reducing rollover risk in the near term.

The credit market took notice. Fitch Ratings upgraded PEMEX's credit rating by three notches to BB+, while Moody's raised its assessment by two notches to B1, both with stable outlooks. The upgrades paved the way for a landmark return to the domestic capital markets in February 2026, PEMEX's first domestic bond issuance in six years, raising MX$31.5 billion in certificates with demand exceeding the offer by 2.5 times and a price compression of 32 basis points, a clear signal of restored investor confidence.

On the commercial debt front, PEMEX disbursed MX$582 billion to suppliers and contractors throughout 2025, drawing on both its own cash flows and the Investment Financing Program administered through BANOBRAS, which channeled MX$191 billion in the second half of the year alone. The payments came through a MX$250 billion specialized investment fund established in August 2025 in coordination with SHCP, designed to manage and reduce PEMEX's supplier-related liabilities while ensuring that payments on already-executed projects were completed on schedule. The move provided greater certainty to the broader supply chain, improving operational continuity across the company's upstream and downstream businesses.

Operationally, liquid hydrocarbon production stabilized at an average of 1.635MMb/d for the year, reaching 1.648MMb/d in 4Q25. Natural gas production averaged 3.677Bcf/d annually and reached 3.879Bcf/d in 4Q25, driven by growth in non-associated gas.

The most significant operational gains came from the refining system. In 4Q25, Mexico's National Refining System processed 1.136MMb/d of crude oil, a 44.4% increase compared to the same quarter in 2024, and produced 1.177MMb/d of petroleum products, up 41.5% year-on-year. Domestic fuel output reached 1.19MMb/d in December 2025, up 34% from 885.933Mb/d in December 2024. The improvements reflect fewer unplanned shutdowns, greater operational reliability, and more efficient use of installed capacity across the refining network.

Fuel sales also rose. PEMEX reported a 7% increase in gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel sales in 4Q25 compared to the same period in 2024, equivalent to 70Mb/d additional. On the cost side, operating expenses fell 17% through more efficient resource management, contributing to a 4Q25 operating income of MX$20 billion and a near-zero net loss, a stark reversal from the MX$350.5 billion deficit recorded in 4Q24.