• BUDGET The López Obrador Administration plans to allocate a total of USD 1.2 billion (25 billion pesos) over two years for reconfiguring most of six oil refineries under the control of Pemex, Mexico’s state owned petroleum company but independent experts deem this wont be nearly enough.
• NUMBER According to data presented to Mexican Congress, the new Government is expecting to use around 600 million dollars both in 2019 and 2020 for the refurbishing of Pemex refineries but experts believe that this would only cover maintenance costs and
• QUOTE “This is not a budget that contemplates refurbishing the three (refineries) that need to be refurbished. It’s an adequate budget (only) for maintenance”, says Rosanety Barrios, an independent expert on energy issues who says each refinery would require USD 4 billion for refurbishing.
• LOW USE Among Pemex six refineries the only one with an utilization rate above 50% is the Salamanca in Guanajuato meanwhile the one with the lowest is the Madero in Tamaulipas with 29%; despite this the current Government has vowed to build a new refinery in Tabasco state.
