Page 7 - LatAmOil Week 06 2022

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

The unfinished Dos Bocas refinery will process 340,000 bpd of domestic crude (Image: LopexObrador.org.mx)
India has been a major market for Mexican which is Pemex’s primary export market. It also
crude exports. Refinitiv Eikon data cited by said that the most significant cuts would prob-
Reuters show that Indian refiners purchased a ably affect customers in South Korea and India,
total of 132,500 bpd of oil from Pemex last year, while US and European buyers were likely to see
equivalent to about 7.6% of the country’s total much smaller reductions.
production of 1.736mn bpd. Indian Oil Corp. Reducing exports is not a trifling matter.
(IOC), HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) and Mexico has been exporting at least 1mn bpd of
Reliance Industries have been among the biggest crude oil since the early 1980s, and the 2021 fig-
buyers of Isthmus and Maya grade crudes. ure was no exception, coming in at a bit more
All three are likely to see Mexican imports than 1mn bpd. President Lopez Obrador’s plan
drop sharply this year. Reuters’ sources reported calls for cutting that figure down by more than
that Pemex had already reduced shipments to 60% in 2022 and then bringing it all the way
HMEL and Reliance, and one source said he down to zero by the end of the following year.
expected to see IOC take delivery of just 22,000 Pemex has already decided what to do with
bpd of Mexican oil in 2022, down from 40,000 the additional barrels of crude oil. It intends to
bpd last year. deliver these volumes to its refineries in order
Pemex’s CEO Octavio Romero Oropeza to maximise fuel output, increase domestic fuel
told reporters in late December that his com- supplies and eliminate dependence on imported
pany intended to cut exports to 435,000 bpd fuels. The feedstock will go to Pemex’s six exist-
in 2022 and then halt exports altogether over ing plants, which have been operating far below
the course of 2023, as requested by President their full design capacity of 1.6mn bpd for many
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Bloomberg years, as well as the newly acquired Deer Park
commented at the time that this shift was widely refinery in Texas. It will also eventually go to the
anticipated to have a bigger impact on Asia, Dos Bocas refinery, a 340,000 bpd facility now
which typically absorbs about 25% of Mexico’s under construction in Lopez Obrador’s home
total crude exports, than on North America, state of Tabasco. ™

VENEZUEL A
Chevron reportedly in talks with PdVSA

CHEVRON has reportedly entered into talks day (bpd) unless it teams up with foreign pri-
with Venezuela’s national oil company (NOC) vate companies. However, US sanctions on the
PdVSA over the US major’s aim to gain more Venezuelan oil sector are a significant obstacle to
control over its upstream assets in the South investments in production.
American state. Reports of the discussions have Although Chevron has been active in the
come to light as Venezuela seeks to increase oil South American state for decades, it has had to
production, even though it remains subject to ramp down most of its operations in response
US sanctions. to the imposition of trade restrictions. To revive
Caracas has little hope of pushing crude its business in Venezuela, the company would
output up to the target level of 2mn barrels per require a special waiver from the US Treasury.

Week 06 10•February•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P7