MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexico’s state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos increased crude production to 1.745 million barrels per day (bpd) in March while processing more at its domestic refineries, according to official data seen by Reuters.
Mexico agreed to a 100,000-bpd output cut as part of an initiative by the OPEC+ group to push up plummeting oil prices by withdrawing barrels from an oversupplied market. The cuts will be put in place this month.
Mexico’s energy minister, Rocio Nahle, said the nation would cut output only during May and June.
The reduction is expected to mostly affect newly drilled oilfields while a larger portion of shallow-water production by Pemex, as the company is known, would be used for domestic refining.
Pemex’s crude production has consistently grown this year from 1.724 million bpd in January, including shared oilfields, official figures showed. Last week, the company reported a massive loss of nearly USD24 billion in the first quarter and announced a USD1.9 billion cut in its investment budget.
Pemex’s crude processing at its refineries rose to almost 600,000 bpd in March from 464,018 bpd the previous month, the official data showed. Pemex said its total production of fuel averaged 717,400 bpd last month.
As MRC wrote previously, Petroleos Mexicanos posted a USD18.3 billion net loss for 2019, nearly doubling the previous year’s loss and dealing a major blow to the Mexican president’s quest to revive the heavily-indebted state oil company.
We also remind that in 2016, Pemex shut its steam cracker at its Cangrejera complex for maintenance on February 15. The cracker was idle for about 14 days. The conducted repairs at the cracker were a part of planned maintenance.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).
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