By KELIN DILLON

On Monday, Dec. 9, the Mexican Senate asked for state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) to deliver a comprehensive report detailing its current debts owed to suppliers and contractors. 

According to the senate’s request, the Pemex report must include a clear strategy and payment schedule to prevent further harm to companies teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

In a motion introduced by Morena Senator Óscar Cantón Zetina, concerns were raised regarding Pemex’s significant debt, which stood at approximately 403 billion pesos at the close of the third quarter of this year. 

The most recent figures available regarding Pemex’s debt to suppliers and contractors, sourced from the company’s transparency portal, date back to July 2024, leaving a four-month gap in relation to the company’s current debt load.

National Regeneration Movement (Morena) Senator Óscar Cantón Zetina raised the concern over Pemex’s large debt load to his fellow senators and highlighted the urgency to address the issue. 

“Timely compliance with obligations to suppliers is crucial for the operational sustainability of Pemex and the energy sector in general,” the senator stated. “It should not be overlooked that contractors provide essential services that include exploration, extraction, refining, and transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as maintenance of key infrastructure.”

Cantón Zetina went on to emphasize that Pemex’s prolonged debts have led to increased operating costs for the state-owned oil company, driven by late payment interest and the potential for litigation.

“Resolving these payments promptly would avoid additional expenses and strengthen the company’s financial position,” continued the senator. 

Cantón Zetina also noted that his state, Tabasco, is particularly impacted by the lack of financial resources flowing into the indirect economy generated by the energy sector and stressed the detrimental effects of Pemex’s delayed payments on local businesses.

 Former Pemex CEO Octavio Romero Oropeza, now head of the Mexican National Housing Fund Institute (Infonavit), previously assured that the debts Pemex owed to contractors in the energy sector would be settled by August 2024 ahead of assuming his post at Infonavit on Oct. 1, a promise that did not come to fruition.

The news comes soon after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (CSP) announced her administration’s intention to “fix Pemex.”