Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 24 2021

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

Pemex reportedly fails to pay

profit-sharing bonuses to traders

MEXICO’S national oil company (NOC) its budget funds. It then withdrew the request
Pemex reportedly did not pay the profit-sharing following complaints from employees, saying
bonuses owed to its traders in May, and its fail- that traders would be able to decide whether to
ure to do so may be a reflection of poor financial return the extra payments on a voluntary basis.
and operational performance, according to a Some traders said, nevertheless, that their man-
Bloomberg report. agers had continued to exert pressure on them
Sources with knowledge of the situation told to forego the bonuses.
the news agency earlier this week that Pemex Mexico’s constitution obligates most employ-
had been due to pay about $50,000 worth of ers to pay profit-sharing bonuses to their work-
bonuses to certain employees of PMI and Mex- ers. Pemex is exempt from this requirement,
Gas, the company’s crude oil and LPG trading but it must still pay out bonuses to some of its
subsidiaries. The traders in question earned the affiliated companies. The number of those affili-
bonuses on the basis of the profits that PMI and ates has declined in recent years, as the NOC has
MexGas earned in 2020, they explained. been buying out some of its subsidiaries in order
The sources, who spoke on condition of ano- to consolidate control at the corporate manage-
nymity, did not say why the NOC had taken this ment level. ™
step. Bloomberg noted, though, that Pemex’s
missed payment had occurred against a back-
drop of poor performance. The state-owned
company is carrying a debt load of $114bn, and
its oil production levels have fallen every year
since 2005, it said.
As of press time, Pemex had not responded
to questions from the press about the non-pay-
ment of profit-sharing bonuses.
This is not the first time these bonuses have
proved contentious. Last November, the NOC
asked traders to return nearly the $1mn worth
of profit-sharing bonuses they had received for
earnings in 2019 in a bid to help cover gaps in Pemex has seen oil output drop every year since 2005 (Photo: Pemex)

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Trinidad and Tobago eyes options

for green hydrogen production

TRINIDAD and Tobago is looking into the pos- storage [CCS], will be [a] catalyst for deep decar-
sibility of diversifying into hydrogen produc- bonisation and hard-to-abate sectors as heavy
tion, Prime Minister Keith Rowley said. industry,” he commented. “The Ministry of
Speaking during the virtual opening cere- Energy and Energy Industries has established
mony for a conference hosted by the Trinidad a multi-disciplinary committee to develop a
and Tobago Energy Chamber last week, Rowley hydrogen economy framework for TT. [The]
noted that hydrogen fuel could play an impor- committee should be presenting the preliminary
tant role in reducing carbon emissions. To this report in the near future.”
end, he said, various state agencies are examin- As a first step, he said, Port of Spain has
ing proposals for promoting green hydrogen secured funding from the Inter-American
production. Development Bank (IDB) to cover the costs of
“Hydrogen, along with carbon capture and a hydrogen study.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 24 17•June•2021