Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has received 2.8 trillion pesos in financial support from the Government of Mexico between 2013 and 2024. However, according to Fernanda Ballesteros, country manager of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) in Mexico, these resources have been allocated in a discretionary manner, generating an unsustainable dependency and inefficient management of public funds.
Ballesteros highlights the importance of establishing clear processes for providing support to Pemex and the need to implement monitoring metrics to evaluate whether the company is meeting its objectives. According to the NRGI study titled 'Conditional Supports to Pemex: Towards Financial Sustainability in Times of Energy Transition,' the company faces a complicated financial situation with a debt close to 100 billion dollars and debt maturities of 20 billion dollars in the coming years.
The Mexican government has transferred around 1.2 trillion pesos to Pemex through direct funds and another 1 trillion through tax benefits between 2019 and 2024. It is evident that this type of support will continue to be provided in a discretionary manner according to secondary legislation, according to Alejandro Chanona, NRGI consultant.
On the other hand, Roxana Muñoz, vice president of Moody's Ratings, believes that Pemex lacks liquidity and faces high levels of indebtedness, so it is necessary for the Government of Mexico to continue supporting the company with 17 billion dollars until 2026. The importance of a comprehensive strategy to improve the company's situation is emphasized, as isolated measures such as closing refineries or tax exemptions are not sufficient.
In this context, according to Flavio Ruiz, oil sector analyst, it is fundamental for Pemex to review its processes and modernize its production chain. The possibility of importing gasoline to improve the efficiency of the National Refining System is proposed, which would imply breaking established paradigms.
The NRGI report proposes establishing standardized and measurable criteria to justify the granting of support to Pemex, as well as implementing transparency, monitoring, and sanction mechanisms for non-compliance in pursuit of more efficient and sustainable resource management.
