PEMEX to Send Crude to Deer Park

PEMEX is exploring options to send crude oil to its Deer Park refinery in Houston, Texas. The NOC disclosed that it conducted an assessment aboard the Yúum K’ak’naáb Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and at the Dos Bocas Maritime Terminal to identify opportunities for operational coordination improvements. The aim is to optimize the crude oil supply for the Deer Park refinery.

The Yúum K’ak’naáb FPSO plays a crucial role in PEMEX's operations. Operating in the Sonda de Campeche, it is responsible for separating oil from gas and then transferring it to vessels for export. It ranks among the largest FPSOs globally and boasts a substantial storage capacity of 2.2MMb of crude oil. PEMEX has reported monthly savings of approximately US$2.2 million, as well as increased production thanks to the FPSO's operations.

Moreover, in its report to the Senate, PEMEX said that the Dos Bocas Maritime Terminal serves as the primary hub for hydrocarbon exports and will establish direct connectivity with the new Olmeca refinery in Dos Bocas. To align with this strategic vision, ongoing work is being carried out at the Dos Bocas Terminal to adapt its infrastructure.

Operational efficiency is a key focus for PEMEX, leading to savings in operating and administrative costs, said PEMEX’s CEO, Octavio Romero Oropeza. This strategy encompasses streamlining well exploration and production phases, optimizing infrastructure usage, harnessing engineering and human resources and achieving operational synergy between strategic facilities.

According to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s fifth Government Report, the Deer Park refinery has sent less than 10% of its production to Mexico. In June, PEMEX Comercio Internacional, the international trading arm of the NOC, announced the exploration of alternative methods to increase fuel shipments from the Deer Park refinery to Mexico. This exploration included options for augmenting fuel exports via pipelines and railways from the El Paso region in Texas. Romero underlined the company's commitment to redirecting 100% of Deer Park's production to Mexico by the first half of 2024.