PEMEX Freshwater Use Rises 2.32% in 2024

While detailing progress on emissions reductions, PEMEX’s 2024 Sustainability Report revealed a 2.32% increase in fresh water usage compared to 2023 figures, totalling 176.6 million cubic meters (MMm3). This represents the second-highest usage in the past five years and contradicts the company’s stated goal to minimize freshwater consumption. Although PEMEX made substantial progress in using treated water—41.1 MMm³, nearly a 21% increase from 2023—this positive effect was offset by an overall 4.7% rise in total water use.

Despite limited progress on water efficiency, PEMEX highlighted achievements at refineries located in water-scarce or overexploited areas. At the Cadereyta Refinery in Nuevo Leon, 24.2 MMm³ of the 28.36 MMm³ of total water supplied was treated wastewater, meaning 8.5 out of every 10 liters supplied were reclaimed. Meanwhile, at the Madero Refinery in Tamaulipas, 7.5 out of every 10 liters supplied came from reclaimed water. Overall, PEMEX’s operations in water-scarce states drew freshwater at much lower rates than operations in states with higher groundwater availability.

PEMEX also outlined several initiatives to reduce raw water usage, including eliminating water and steam leaks, implementing water efficiency programs, and rehabilitating sour water and wastewater treatment plants.

The report reaffirmed the company’s commitment not to carry out hydrocarbon extraction through hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a process known to pollute soil, air, and aquifers, threatening local groundwater supplies. This statement comes weeks after a Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) factual record raised serious concerns about the environmental impact of two PEMEX-operated hydraulic fracturing wells in Nuevo León. While the wells are currently inactive, local communities claim that drilling operations in 2013 and 2014 severely impacted water quality and availability.

The report was released a month after Margarita Pérez Miranda, Director of PMI Comercio Internacional (PMI), outlined PEMEX’s commitment to sustainable water management at the Women’s Energy and Sustainability Summit on July 2, 2025, in Mexico City. Pérez Miranda emphasized that sustainability is integral to PEMEX’s business plan and discussed efforts to enhance efficient and sustainable water use.

Among the concrete actions Pérez Miranda highlighted were the reduction of water consumption through the adoption of innovative recirculation and treatment processes, strict adherence to federal regulations against water pollution and the development of a close working relationship with the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) to foster more efficient and equitable use of water resources. The summit itself was jointly opened by both Pérez Miranda and Paola Felix Díaz, General Coordinator of the National Agreement and International Coordination, CONAGUA. 

Although Pérez Miranda praised PEMEX’s progress in wastewater treatment and water efficiency across refineries and processing centers, her presentation lacked detailed data. The 2024 Sustainability Report showed some progress, particularly regarding treated water use in water-stressed areas. Nevertheless, PEMEX’s rising freshwater consumption remains a significant challenge to achieving water efficiency and reuse goals.