Pemex faces a grim scenario

In recent years, state company Pemex has faced one of the worst scenarios, including corruption , debts , low oil production , low prices , and currency devaluation . Now, Pemex will face even more struggles now that it has become more expensive to extract oil than to sell it once it is processed, which translates into non-viable operations at the oil fields.

Although oil fields such as Cantarel and others, which at the moment supply 80% of the national production , have yet to be completely exploited and other major oil fields have been discovered recently and expert still haven’t determined their real potential, the existing fields were projected when the oil prices were much higher compared to current prices; therefore, the current crisis makes it hard or almost impossible to operate these fields as operations could not be justified with the current price set at USD $27 per barrel. This complicated scenario increases the pressure against Pemex , which has been increasing for several years.

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The crisis is a reminder that Mexico should not depend on only one source of energy and that the government should not depend on Pemex as the main income generator for the country, as well as the need to reevaluate the investment made to Pemex , which might not produce dividends if low oil prices are maintained.

Besides all these obstacles, the Mexican government doesn’t seem to be interested in renewable energies that pollute less but which could also make it non-viable to rely on oil production as the main source of income for the country. Therefore, authorities carefully plan a strategy and try to timely anticipate the path the energy industry will take. From this perspective, the Dos Bocas refinery, one of the main government projects, might not result in a great business as it was expected by the current administration.

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