The legal limit for toxic gas released by Pemex near Houston, Texas was exceeded in hours-long leakage of toxic gas
Pemex, the Mexican state-owned oil refinery, reported to Texas regulators that it released 43,500 lbs of highly toxic hydrogen sulfur gas in an incident that killed one person earlier this week. Two contract workers were killed and 35 injured in an accident that occurred on Thursday at a refinery. According to Pemex’s initial report submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on October 10, the leak continued for seven hours and forty minutes. The hydrogen sulfide leakage during the incident exceeded the 6.89 pound per hour hourly limit of the gas. This was more than 800-fold.
Pemex's Deer Park refinery reduces operations following fatal accident
The Deer Park refinery of the Mexican national oil company Pemex, near Houston, will be operating at a reduced level this weekend following a deadly leak two days ago. The state-owned oil company added that it continues to investigate the cause of last Thursday's hydrogen sulfide gas leak that killed two contract workers while injuring 35 others during work on a unit at the 312,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery. Mexico's Energy Minister said that she expects the facility to resume normal operations by the end of Friday. The company has now retracted that statement.
Pemex CEO: Bodies recovered from deadly Texas refinery accident
On Friday, Pemex's top executive announced that the two victims of the chemical leak at Deer Park Refinery in Texas had been found and an investigation was launched to determine what caused the fatal incident. Pemex owns and operates the 312,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery located near Houston. Local Texas officials reported that up to 35 people were treated at the plant for exposure to hydrogen-sulfide gases or transported to hospitals in the area. At a press conference held on Friday morning, Pemex's Chief Executive Officer Victor Rodriguez stated that the two people who died were not Pemex employees.
Mexican President says that new Pemex refinery is running at about 80% capacity
The new refinery of Mexico's state-owned Pemex is currently processing crude oil at 80% capacity, according to the president. This represents a significant increase from the latest data released by the company. The Olmeca refinery, located near the port of Dos Bocas on Mexico's Gulf Coast, has a daily capacity of 340,000 barrels. It is the largest of Pemex’s seven domestic facilities. Pemex’s latest data, from the end August, showed that the refinery was running at about one-quarter of its capacity or about 84.100 barrels per daily (bpd).
Mexico's new president appoints an energy expert to lead Pemex
On Monday, Mexico's new president nominated Victor Rodriguez as the next executive director of the heavily indebted oil company Pemex. This was one of the last nominations to the politically and financially volatile energy sector. At a press event, Rodriguez stated that working with the Finance Ministry would be crucial in stabilizing his company, the most indebted of all oil companies in the world. He also stressed the importance of producing less polluting fuels. The cabinet of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum who assumes office in October has been announced.
Mexico's Pemex receives approval to increase investment in deepwater Lakach field by $400 million
The hydrocarbon regulator in Mexico approved Thursday the request of state energy company Pemex for an expansion of a natural-gas project in Gulf of Mexico. This requires additional investments of just under $400 million. Lakach has been touted as a possible gateway to a deepwater Mexican gas frontier. Pemex requested that the production strategy for the field be updated to include the termination and recovery of wells, production management, and commercialization of hydrocarbons. CNH approved $2.218 billion for 2024-2041, of which $1.667 billion is for investments and $551 for operational costs.
Sources say that the incoming Mexican government wants to open Pemex up to oil partnerships.
According to four sources with knowledge of the situation, the incoming Mexican government will encourage the state oil company Pemex, to form equity partnerships with private oil firms, a model that is not popular with the president. This move is to increase reserves in the face of a massive debt. These partnerships will be similar to previous Pemex joint-ventures with private oil companies, known as "farm-outs", that Mexico pursued via an energy reform implemented a decade earlier. This reform allowed oil regulators to allow private and foreign oil firms to partner with Pemex in exploration and production.
Pemex Trading Arm Mulls Canceling May-June Cargos
The trading arm of Mexican state oil company Pemex is mulling options to slash the number of fuel cargoes the country imports in May and June as demand plummets because of the coronavirus, three sources close to the talks told Reuters.Pemex last week declared force majeure over fuel supplies from its trading arm PMI Comercio Internacional after a bottleneck of more than 60 vessels built up outside Mexican ports, waiting to discharge.But PMI still has not declared force majeure - a contract provision that allows a party to temporarily suspend its obligations due to external circumstances - over its own fuel purchases…
Mexico and Pemex Face Downgrade Risk
Mexico threw troubled state oil company Pemex a lifeline in 2019 to stop $80 billion in bonds held by investors worldwide being labeled junk by credit rating agencies. Now, investors worry that the state itself is a risk for Pemex.Mexico's creditworthiness came under increasing scrutiny in 2019, with two rating agencies flipping their sovereign outlook for the country to negative and one downgrading its rating.Economic growth has ground to a halt during Mexico's first year under leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, hitting income and sales tax receipts.
Majors Press Mexico to Resume Oil Auctions
Big oil companies operating in Mexico have launched a drive to convince leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to resume auctions of oil and gas contracts he has branded a failure in reviving the industry.Chevron Corp, Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, among other firms in Mexico's Association of Hydrocarbon Companies (Amexhi), say they have met output targets and investment pledges worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the initial phases of their contracts."We've been complying (with contractual obligations)…
Oil Companies Swap Stakes in Mexico
With Mexico's government insisting that energy companies increase oil and gas output before it auctions off more of the country's vast reserves or offers more partnerships with state-run Pemex, firms ranging from foreign majors to local players are scrambling to buy and sell blocks they already own.The negotiations are creating a dynamic secondary market for oil acreage, which could be the only investment opportunity left for firms until leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador unblocks his predecessor's…
Pemex Struck by Ransomware Attack
A ransomware attack hit computer servers and halted administrative work on Monday at Mexican state oil firm Pemex, according to employees and internal emails, in hackers' latest bid to wring ransom from a major company.Hackers have increasingly targeted companies with malicious programs that can cripple systems overseeing everything from supply chains to payments to manufacturing, removing them only after receiving substantial payments.An internal email seen by Reuters said Pemex was targeted by "Ryuk," a strain…
Pemex Posts $4.4 Bln Loss
Slumping revenues pushed Mexico's Petroleos Mexicanos to a net loss of 87.4 bln pesos ($4.43 billion) in the third quarter, but the struggling state oil firm said on Monday it had cut back its hefty debt load, bucking the trend of recent years.Pemex, as the company is generally known, held financial debts of $106 billion at the end of 2018, and it has been under intense pressure from international credit rating agencies to get its finances onto a more sustainable path.Fitch in June became the first major credit rating agency to downgrade Pemex's bonds to so-called junk status.
Mexico, Pemex to Hedge Oil Output
The Mexican government has said in its 2020 budget proposal that it will maintain a strategy of hedging its oil output against lower prices.Mexico’s state oil company Pemex will also continue a similar but separate hedging program. Mexico’s roughly $1 billion annual oil hedge is considered the world’s largest oil trade and the government has made the first moves to launch its program by asking banks for quotes.The budget document said the government had “fiscal shock absorbers” to protect against volatility that could affect public finances.
Mexico Unveils Pemex Business Plan
Mexico on Tuesday unveiled parts of a keenly awaited business plan meant to bring the world's most indebted oil company back from the abyss, but its vow of $7.2 billion in government support failed to dispel worries of a ratings downgrade.Octavio Romero, CEO of Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex , presented the broad outlines of the 200-page plan at a news conference, saying a complete version would be published later on Tuesday.Romero said the plan addressed an onerous profit-sharing tax that hands much of the company's…
Pemex Steering Clear of Deepwater
Petroleos Mexicanos will focus on shallow water projects and onshore plays, and avoid investing in its deepwater riches for now, as the ailing Mexican state-run oil company seeks to turn around a 14-year slide in crude production, a top official said on Thursday.Chief Financial Officer Alberto Velazquez outlined the approach the state-owned oil company known as Pemex will take at a conference in the colonial city of Leon on Thursday.He emphasized that Pemex has no plans to invest in costly and technologically complex deepwater projects in the Gulf of Mexico…
Pemex's Oil Exports Tumble
Pemex's oil exports dropped by 11% in April compared to the previous month, while production slipped by 0.9%, data from the Mexican state oil firm showed on Friday.Exports of Maya crude, the only type Pemex has been selling abroad for almost a year, fell to 1.023 million barrels per day (bpd) in April from 1.150 million bpd in March, the data showed. Crude output dipped to 1.675 million bpd from 1.691 million bpd.Pemex has been struggling to cope with financial debts of some $106 billion and years of dwindling output.
Pemex Promised $7.3 Billion in Tax Relief
Mexico's government aims to give $7.3 billion in tax relief to heavily indebted state oil company Pemex, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday, in an effort to cool fears over its financial viability and the impact on the wider economy.Pemex, burdened by $106 billion of financial debt, is teetering on the brink of losing its investment-grade rating.That scenario could be disastrous for Pemex as investors whose mandates stipulate they must hold assets of investment-grade quality find themselves forced to sell billions of dollars of its bonds.
Pemex Swings to Q1 Loss
Petroleos Mexicanos swung to a 35.7 billion peso ($1.84 billion) net loss during the first quarter as revenues and crude output at the heavily-indebted Mexican state oil company fell, results posted to the stock exchange showed on Tuesday.Revenues at Pemex were 356.3 billion pesos during the January-March period, down 10.4 percent from 397.4 billion pesos in the same period in 2018, the results showed.Pemex, which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has pledged to revive after years of decline, posted a profit of 113.3 billion pesos in the first quarter of last year.Rating agencies have warned that Pemex…
Mexico Plans $3.6 Bln Relief for Pemex
Mexico's government will inject $3.6 billion into ailing state-owned oil company Pemex, including by reducing taxes paid, company officials said on Friday, a move aimed at improving the firm's balance sheet and preventing a further downgrade to its credit rating.Formally known as Petroleos Mexicanos, the firm holds roughly $106 billion in financial debt, the highest of any national oil company in Latin America.Pemex will receive $1.8 billion in pension liability monetization as part of the new fiscal assistance plan for company…
