Mexican crude oil exports suffered a decline this month, reaching their lowest level in more than three decades. The state oil company Pemex is facing difficulties in dealing with a $20 billion debt to its suppliers, which is impacting its production capacity.
In January, oil exports fell by 37 percent compared to the previous month, reaching approximately 577,000 barrels per day, the lowest level since 1990. This has led U.S. fuel manufacturers, the main foreign buyers of Mexican oil, to seek alternative supplies from Canada and Colombia.
Pemex, considered the most indebted oil producer globally, has reduced its production while trying to pay off its debts to suppliers, including drilling companies and providers of chemicals necessary for crude refining.
"Pemex's outstanding balances should be settled by March," said Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum. In November, some contracts were temporarily suspended while options were being evaluated and the company worked on a payment plan.
The lack of crude oil ready to be refined has caused a backlog of ships off the Mexican coasts waiting to load oil and has resulted in the closure of the country's main refinery.
These production problems come at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported products from Mexico and Canada starting February 1, although it is unclear if oil will be affected by these measures.
In a more optimistic context, during 2024, Pemex achieved the highest crude processing in 7 years at its Mexican refineries, reaching 905.6 thousand barrels per day, an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous year. This increase in processing capacity was achieved with the commissioning of the Dos Bocas refinery in Tabasco, after former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pushed to reduce fuel imports from the United States.
