Page 7 - LatAmOil Week 14 2021

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

The new unit’s assets include the Energía Costa Azul LNG project (Photo: Sempra Energy)
Sempra launched the infrastructure unit as a infrastructure unit. “That means that Sempra’s
self-funding platform, as it focuses more on its banks, its lenders, can look at this and perhaps
US utility business. The sale of the stake to KKR improve how they think about the company’s
values Sempra Infrastructure Partners at about balance sheet,” he said.
$25.2bn, including expected asset-related debt “Over the next decade, we expect the energy
worth $8.37bn at the closing of the deal, it said markets in North America to continue to grow
this week. “Over the past few years, there’s been and become increasingly integrated. Combining
a general move from utilities to focus more on our resources with KKR improves our ability to
their traditional domestic utility business and capture new investment opportunities in cleaner
[place] less emphasis on their international forms of energy and the critical infrastructure
business,” a Glenrock Associates analyst, Paul that stores and transports it,” stated Sempra’s
Patterson, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying. chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Martin. “This trans-
The news service also cited a Raymond action also sends a clear signal about the value
James analyst, Pavel Molchanov, as saying sell- and expected growth of our infrastructure port-
ing the stake also set a market value for Sempra’s folio.” ™

Nahle: Mexico will review permits of fuel

retailers suspected of bypassing subsidies

THE Mexican government included fuel price Mexico’s government intended to put fuel prices
subsidies in its stimulus programme for the “in order.”
energy sector in February because world prices World crude oil prices have risen since the
for crude oil have been increasing, Nahle wrote beginning of the year, and Mexican Finance
earlier this week in response to questions sub- Ministry officials had hoped that the tax breaks
mitted by Bloomberg. As such, it wants to ensure and subsidies included in the February energy
that fuel sellers pass the savings on to customers, stimulus would help insulate consumers from
she said. the increase.
“There’s a fiscal stimulus maintained by the However, Mexican gasoline prices have been
Finance Ministry at this time, and there are climbing over the last month. In late March, they
some gasoline retailers that absorb the stimulus, reached a high of MXP25.5 ($1.27) per litre,
increasing their profit margins considerably,” equivalent to $4.80 per gallon.
she stated. “We are going to review their permits Nahle’s comments on petroleum product
and act accordingly.” retailers’ response to subsidies follow closely
The minister did not say whether the gov- on the heels of President Andres Manuel Lopez
ernment might revoke the permits of retailers Obrador’s move to introduce legislation that
that were found to be charging customers too would allow the Mexican government to sus-
much. She was responding to queries from pend the licences of fuel sellers under certain
Bloomberg after saying in a post on Twitter that conditions.

Week 14 08•April•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7