PEMEX Production of Gasoline at its lowest levels

The production of petrol by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) throughout 2020 was the lowest that has been recorded since 1993, reaching a volume of 185,600 barrels per day, 9% lower than the previous year. Despite this, the company’s internal sales increased four percentage points compared to the previous year, standing at 32%, while the rest were imports made by the company to supply its demand.

According to figures from the state oil company, this volume of domestic sales was last observed in 2017, after it was below 28 percent in the following two years. It should be remembered that 10 years ago it exceeded 53%, leaving the rest in imports, and moreover 20 years ago Pemex produced 74% of the petrol consumed in the Mexico.

Diesel production at the company’s six refineries reached a volume of 113,600 barrels per day, which is also the lowest since the company’s current refining capacity was instigated. This volume was 13% lower than in 2019 and in one year it increased from 44% to 52% of the share of Pemex’s internal diesel sales.

In the recently published Petroleum Statistics of the company, it is noted that the average production of fuel oil in the year increased to 176,000 barrels per day, with an increase of 17% in relation to the previous year, (having fallen 19% compared to the then previous year).

Pemex’s domestic sales have fallen steadily in the last four years. Correspondingly, Mexicans have reduced their consumption of both regular and Premium gasoline and have changed brands to acquire gasoline imported by third parties in the last three years. Furthermore, compared to domestic sales of a decade ago, there has been a reduction of 29%.

In turn, domestic diesel sales also reached their lowest level since the current refining capacity was created, and stood at 217,500 barrels per day, 26% less than in the previous year. It is in these sales where the competition has hit Pemex the most because in the last decade the reduction had already reached 41 percent.

Finally, even Pemex’s gasoline imports had a significant fall, 26% per year, reaching 388,000 barrels per day in the average of 2020. The level to which they returned was that of 2016 and in comparison with the import volume reported a decade ago, they have risen two percent.  Diesel imports fell even more, 36% year-on-year, standing at 114,300 barrels per day.