Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 06 2022

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

Moody’s analyst says Pemex faces

less risk of ratings downgrade in 2022

AN analyst for Moody’s Investors Service has she said.
said that Mexico’s national oil company (NOC) Additionally, she said, crude exports are an
Pemex has reduced the risk of another down- important source of the funds that Pemex needs
grade in its credit rating this year. to trim its debt portfolio, which amounts to
Nymia Almeida, the senior vice-president more than $100bn. “They need to generate hard
for corporate ratings at Moody’s, told Bloomb- currency to pay their debts, so it’s important that
erg in an interview earlier this week that Pemex they keep exporting oil,” she commented.
was looking like a more stable prospect. Now Moreover, the analyst said she was not cer-
that pricing and production environments are tain that the Mexican government was devoting
more favourable and additional government sufficient resources to downstream projects
funding has become available, the company’s to achieve its aim of eliminating fuel imports.
securities are less likely to sink further into the “If they don’t invest enough in downstream,
junk range, she said. they will not be able to increase production of
“[Pemex’s] debt must have declined last year fuel,” she remarked. “I don’t see them investing
because of the payments by the government, enough.” ™
[and] production has stabilised and prices are
very solid, so they should be less of a burden – at
least, this year,” she said. “I think the amount of
money that they may need this year will be less.”
The NOC’s current rating under the Moody’s
system is Ba3, or three steps below investment
grade, with a negative outlook.
Almeida did qualify her statements about
the reduction in Pemex’s risk levels, saying she
remained concerned about the company’s plan
for phasing out oil exports and processing all
of its own output domestically. This approach
is worrisome because the NOC is not extract-
ing enough crude to support refineries in the
production of sufficient fuel to meet domestic
demand, meaning that the country will remain
dependent on imported petroleum products, Higher crude oil prices and state funding have benefited Pemex (File Photo)

Mexican crude oil export cuts

already affecting Indian refiners

MEXICO’S national oil company (NOC) Pemex exported to India to 15,000 barrels per day
has reportedly slashed crude exports to India (bpd) for the January-February period, down
since the start of 2022, in an apparent move to by 84.7% on the figure of 98,000 bpd posted in
uphold its previously announced goal of making the same interval of 2021, they said.
more feedstock available to domestic refiners. One of the sources remarked that Pemex was
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters not only putting existing clients on hold but was
earlier this week that state-controlled Pemex also making no attempts to attract new custom-
was taking deliberate steps to reduce the volume ers. “Indian refiners that buy Mexican crudes
of crude delivered to Indian refiners. They noted every month are being called to notify them
that the NOC was scheduled to send only one of volume cuts in 2022. Pemex has also turned
cargo of oil to an Indian buyer in the first two down requests by refiners trying to sign new
months of 2022. This will cut the total amount contracts,” he told Reuters.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 06 10•February•2022