Pemex oil exports plunge in January as AMLO seeks fuel autonomy

Petroleos Mexicanos’ crude exports plunged in January as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador steps up his push to make the country self-sufficient in gasoline and diesel. 

The shipments fell nearly 20% from the previous month to 832,000 barrels a day, according to data released Friday by the state oil company. Daily imports of refined oil products also saw a sharp decline of about 21% to 548,200 barrels, while gasoline production increased 6% to 271,200 barrels. 

Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, has made energy independence a centerpiece of his nationalist agenda, pumping resources into the country’s refineries to lift local gasoline and diesel output at the expense of overseas crude sales.

Mexico’s refineries still face challenges to meet Pemex’s processing goals, though, which could lead crude exports to rebound. An oil hedge to guarantee income from 2022 production was kept at about the same size as in previous years, in a sign the country isn’t ready to bank on the president’s plan to cut crude exports.