Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 17 2022

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

Finance Ministry steps up pressure on

Pemex to resume payments on securities

MEXICO’S national oil company (NOC) Pemex more closely at present than it has done in pre-
has reportedly come under more pressure from vious years, added the official, who asked to
the Finance Ministry to resume payments on remain unnamed because he was discussing a
maturing securities, despite an earlier promise matter deemed private.
from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Neither news agency’s report could be con-
to cover the firm’s obligations until the end of his firmed immediately. As of press time, neither
term in 2024. Pemex nor the Mexican government had com-
Two unnamed sources with knowledge of mented on the matter.
the matter told Reuters last week that the min- According to data compiled by Bloomberg,
istry had stepped up its communications with Pemex is due to pay out around $5bn to holders
Pemex and urged the company to assume this of its securities before the end of 2022, including
responsibility ahead of April 21, the deadline for $2.5bn in principal and $2.5bn worth of inter-
paying the holders of €1bn worth of Eurobonds est. In the meantime, the NOC’s total debt load
issued in 2015. The Finance Ministry began rec- stood at around $109.1bn as of the end of 2021;
ommending this course in early April and justi- this makes Pemex the most indebted oil com-
fied its stance by pointing out that the NOC was pany in the world. ™
earning more money as a result of rising world
crude oil prices, the news agency noted.
According to one of Reuters’ sources, Pemex
is now on track to start using its own funds to
cover payments to bondholders by the end of
this month, since the government has not made
any capital contributions to the company since
the beginning of April. The source was referring
to the funds that Mexico City has allocated to the
company for covering amortisation payments.
Pemex did receive a tranche of these funds in
January 2022 and was slated to obtain more in
February but has not said whether it actually did
so. Nor has it commented on events in March.
Even so, a ministry official expressed opti-
mism earlier this week, telling Bloomberg
that the NOC was now in a position to change
course because of its increased earnings from
high crude prices. Pemex is also co-ordinating
its operations with the Finance Ministry much Pemex may be working more closely with the Finance Ministry (File Photo)

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
Wärtsilä to support Eagle LNG Partners,

APC in LNG-to-power project on Antigua

FINLAND’S Wärtsilä will provide support Wärtsilä confirmed in a statement dated
to Caribbean LNG, the joint venture set up by April 26 that it had won a contract from APC
US-based Eagle LNG Partners and its partner for engineering, procurement and construction
Antigua Power Co. (APC), as it executes a small- (EPC) services related to the supply and instal-
scale LNG regasification project on the island of lation of a dual-fuel power plant at Crabbs,
Antigua. Antigua.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 17 28•April•2022