By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF

Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Mexico’s state-owned oil company, had the lowest recorded gasoline production on record in its existence in 2020, according to government figures.

Gasoline production reached an average of 185,600 barrels per day, down 8 percent from the previous year. However, internal sales of Pemex gas managed to increase by 4 percent, reaching a figure of 32 percent, while the rest were imports made by the company to help supply its demand.

This marks the first time Pemex has produced a daily number of barrels below 200,000 on average since it created its current oil refinement infrastructure back in 1993, when it was producing on average 417,500 barrels of gasoline a day.

Diesel production was also down last year, reaching a volume of 113,600 barrels per day, a 13 percent drop from 2019, though internal sales increased by 8 percent to a total of 52 percent of Mexico’s diesel market.

Pemex’s internal sales increased due to the covid-19 pandemic and the low fuel demand the health crisis brought with it, which reduced the importation of foreign gas, reaching a demand in domestic sales numbering 571,200 per day in 2020, the same domestic sale levels as in 2003.

This is the highest share Pemex has had of domestic gasoline sales since 2017, after which it never surpassed 28 percent. Pemex previously dominated Mexico’s fuel market, having 53 percent of the market in 2010 (with the other 47 percent made up of foreign imports), and making up a staggering 74 percent of Mexico’s fuel market in 2000.

Regardless of the increase, Pemex’s domestic gasoline sales are still down 29 percent from the previous decade after Mexicans decreased their gasoline consumption levels as well as changed brands to third-party importers within the past three years.

Domestic diesel sales reached their lowest levels since 1993, standing at 217,500 barrels a day, down 26 percent from 2019.

Pemex also dropped in its gasoline and diesel imports, reaching 388,000 and 114,300 barrels imported per day, respectively.

…Jan. 29, 2021