Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 11 2023

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

Pemex exploring various options for

repaying debts in 2023-2024, CEO says

MEXICO’S national oil company (NOC) budget.
Pemex is currently exploring options for repay- Romero went on to criticise credit ratings
ing its heavy load of debts that are due to mature agencies that have declared some of Pemex’s
in 2023 and 2024, according to the firm’s CEO, bonds to be speculative grade, or junk, thereby
Octavio Romero Oropeza. forcing the state-owned company to pay more
In an interview with Reuters last week, to borrow money. These agencies have “pun-
Romero said that the NOC might offer lend- ished” the NOC unnecessarily and ignored the
ers guarantees backed by crude oil but was progress made by its current management team
considering other possibilities too. “We are with respect to keeping hydrocarbon reserves
exploring all (the options),” he stated. “Yes, yes, stable, increasing production and bringing debt
we are going to try to find the best, cheapest under control, he argued.
mechanism.” For its part, Reuters acknowledged that
As of the end of last year, Pemex’s total long- Pemex had made a profit of $1.2bn in 2022 and
term debt load stood at nearly $108bn and was had also managing to trim part of its debt load
still rising. The company is liable to repay $8.2bn following the arrival of new management. It also
of this amount this year, plus an additional $9bn noted, though, that these profit margins were
in 2024. These sums consist of both bonds and meagre in comparison to the 60% increase in the
long-term bank loans. company’s revenues, which went up to $123bn
Pemex is set to make repayments of up to last year, largely on the strength of high world
$24bn this year, when other liabilities such as crude oil prices.
revolving credit lines and interest are included. The gap between profits and revenues
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez appears to have stemmed from high expenses,
Obrador is a supporter of stronger state con- Reuters said. It explained that the company had
trol over the energy sector, and he has said that been hit by the need to import petroleum prod-
his administration will help the NOC meet its ucts for resale on the local market, as well as tax
obligations if no other alternatives are available. payments and other fees. ™
However, Romero told Reuters that he hoped
Pemex would not have to rely on state assistance
in order to eradicate its debts.
Even so, he did not rule out the possibility
of government intervention, acknowledging
the benefit of Pemex and the Finance Ministry
working together. “That is the great benefit of
two very important government entities work-
ing hand in hand,” he remarked. Currently,
Pemex is the largest contributor to Mexico’s state Moody’s has estimated Pemex’s total debt load at $107.7bn (File Photo)

COLOMBIA
Head of Ecopetrol dismisses proposal

for re-opening gas pipeline to Venezuela

FELIPE Bayon, the CEO of Colombia’s national own offshore developments.
oil company (NOC) Ecopetrol, has dismissed Speaking on the sidelines of the CERAWeek
proposals for re-opening and reversing the flow energy conference in Houston earlier this week,
of a dormant cross-border natural gas pipeline Bayon said the country had more than enough
to Venezuela, saying that his country could sus- gas to cover domestic demand without re-acti-
tain itself without Venezuelan fuel thanks to its vating the 224-km pipeline to Venezuela.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 11 15•March•2023