Pemex oil exports fall despite rally, gasoline imports rise

Pemex’s oil exports are falling while Mexico’s reliance on foreign fuels is rising in spite of a government goal to shed its dependence on global energy markets.

The company’s crude oil exports hit 922,000 barrels a day in June, a 4.5% month-over-month decline, marking the fifth month so far this year that Pemex exported less than one million barrels a day, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. Pemex imported about 888,000 barrels of refined products in June, a record this year. Gasoline imports rose 17% over the period, and diesel increased 34%, as Pemex seeks to secure supplies amid global fuel shortages, the documents showed.

The lopsided energy trade balance is largely due to infrastructure and weather problems, with hurricane season resulting in delays to crude shipments abroad, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Pemex has also stocked up on gasoline and diesel imports as demand returns during a lull in the pandemic and amid the global energy crunch. 

Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador campaigned on a promise to restore Pemex to its former glory by ridding the country of foreign markets’ influence and making Mexico self-sufficient in energy generation by producing all of its own fuel. Yet the world’s most indebted oil company has yet to meet the goal of reducing fuel imports. Earlier this week, its bonds were downgraded further into junk by Moody’s Investor Service.