PEMEX’s Salina Cruz Refinery Wins Efficiency Award

The PEMEX-managed Salina Cruz refinery has been recognized for “best energy performance” nationwide by CONUEE. The recognition comes at a time when the refinery and the NOC, continue to struggle with long-standing production, maintenance, and environmental challenges.

PEMEX explained that Salina Cruz adopted a comprehensive energy-management program under the ISO 50001 standard. In 2024, the refinery achieved savings totaling 2,646,683GJ, roughly equivalent to the energy content of 417Mboe. This represents 71% of the energy-saving potential identified in the facility’s internal audit cycle.

Key measures included maintenance of pre-heating heat exchangers, upgrades to instrumentation across critical units, elimination of steam and condensate leaks, optimization of combustion systems, improved operational scheduling for boilers and furnaces, and targeted staff training. These actions together reportedly reduced energy consumption, improved operational efficiency, and lowered emissions.

PEMEX presents this result as evidence of a renewed push toward modernization and environmental responsibility, aligning with its broader 2025–2035 strategic plan that emphasizes efficiency, sustainability, and stability in fuel supply.

Historical Challenges: Production Decline, Safety Incidents, and Environmental Complaints

Despite this progress, the refinery’s long history of operational difficulties and public troubles remains a heavy burden. The Salina Cruz refinery celebrated 46 years of operation in 2025. Originally built to process 165Mb/d in 1979 and expanded to 330Mb/d by 1989, its effective throughput has since fallen. According to public records, the refinery is now operating at roughly 240Mb/d, below its design capacity.

The reduction in output correlates with wider issues of under-maintenance. Suppliers and contractors have reported significant delays and payment arrears amounting to hundreds of millions of pesos, which have hindered maintenance schedules. As of 2025, maintenance budgets allocated to Salina Cruz reportedly fell from roughly MX$2 billion (US$109.815 million) per year down to MX$1.4 billion — a cut that industry contractors say has limited their ability to keep equipment in safe, efficient condition.

These financial and operational problems have had visible consequences. Between 2015 and 2024, the refinery registered multiple accidents, many occurring during maintenance or during fires triggered by equipment or structural failures.

Environmental complaints have also piled up. Local fishing communities and environmental organizations report recurrent oil spills, contamination of beaches, coastal waters, and fishing grounds. According to one tally by community groups, there were at least ten distinct spill or leak events in 2025 alone.

Additionally, audits conducted after severe weather events and earthquakes found that PEMEX had failed to sufficiently document or justify hundreds of millions of pesos in repairs and repairs contracts, raising concerns over transparency and accountability in maintenance work.

The recent award granted by CONUEE signifies a meaningful institutional acknowledgement that refineries like Salina Cruz remain capable of significant gains in energy efficiency and operational performance, even after decades of underinvestment and neglect. For PEMEX, it offers a chance to rebuild credibility and demonstrate that legacy assets can be modernized rather than abandoned, potentially contributing to fuel supply stability while reducing waste.

Nonetheless, such efficiency improvements must be sustained over time to have a true impact. The structural challenges of deferred maintenance, aging infrastructure, financial constraints, and legacy environmental damage remain significant. Unless investments — not just in energy efficiency but also in safety, pollution control, and production optimization — continue, the gains of 2024 risk being a one-off event rather than part of a broader transformation.

For communities around Salina Cruz, the award may offer hope of fewer disruptions and environmental incidents. For PEMEX and the federal government, it strengthens the justification for continued investment in existing refineries even as they push to develop newer facilities and diversify energy sources.