Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 07 2023

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

Pemex refineries continue to fall

short of capacity utilisation targets

MEXICO’S national oil company (NOC) Pemex years of the current presidential administration,
fell far short of its goals for boosting refining but as already noted, it has not succeeded in rais-
capacity utilisation in 2022 and is likely to con- ing capacity utilisation.
tinue underperforming this year and next year, Pemex has responded to the circumstances
despite ongoing efforts to improve conditions in by incorporating a new project into its forecasts,
the oil-processing sector. saying in its most recent business plan that the
As Mexico Business News noted on February launch of a seventh domestic refinery – the
9, Pemex had said previously that it hoped to see 340,000 bpd Olmeca plant – will bring refinery
its six existing refineries – Cadereyta, Madero, throughput up to 1.375mn bpd by 2024. The
Minatitlan, Salamanca, Salina Cruz and Tula – company celebrated the official launch of this
boost capacity utilisation to 1.375mn barrels per greenfield facility in Tabasco state last year, and
day (bpd) in 2023 and 2024, the last two years Lopez Obrador has said it will reach full capacity
of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s presidential by the end of 2023. It remains to be seen whether
term. These six plants have a combined capacity this target can be reached. ™
of about 1.618mn bpd, so the plan was designed
to bring utilisation levels to 85% of the total.
The NOC had also set its original target for
2022 at 1.2mn bpd, equivalent to about 74%
of total capacity, but it later revised the figure
downward to 900,000 bpd, equivalent to slightly
less than 56% of the total.
Despite this cut, however, Pemex failed to
achieve its aims. Refinery throughput averaged
816,010 bpd last year, 9.3% short of the revised
goal figure. (It was, however, 14.6% above the
2021 average of 711,585 bpd.)
These figures indicate that Pemex’s down-
stream investment programme has been less
effective than anticipated. The state-owned
company spent some MXP33.5bn ($1.8bn) on
its six existing refineries during the first three Pemex’s six existing domestic refineries can process 1.618mn bpd (Image: EIA)

VENEZUELA
Iran to build more tankers for Venezuela

VENEZUELA’S national oil company (NOC) now been renamed as the Colon, and the other
PdVSA is slated to order two more Aframax is known as the Anita.
tankers from Iran Marine Industrial Company The former vessel was initially launched in
(SADRA) at a cost of $33.77mn each, according 2017 but was seized not long afterwards by a
to an internal PdVSA document cited by Reuters marine operator complaining of PdVSA’s fail-
and Tasnim News Agency. ure to settle financial obligations; it was then
The vessels, which will be named India returned to the NOC in 2019 but has mostly
Urquia and India Mara, will be built at SADRA’s remained in Venezuela’s territorial waters ever
Bushehr shipyard on the Persian Gulf under an since then. The latter vessel, by contrast, was
existing shipbuilding agreement. It is not known reported to be in Iran as recently as December,
whether Caracas will pay for the vessels directly transporting a cargo of condensate for PdVSA.
or via a barter agreement. US sanctions make it difficult for PdVSA to
Iran has already delivered two Aframax tank- rebuild its fleet. However, Venezuela benefits
ers built by SADRA to PdVSA. One of the ves- from its partnership with Iran, which likewise
sels was originally known as the Arita but has faces heavy trade restrictions.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 07 15•February•2023