President Andrés Manuel López Obrador officially opened the new Pemex refinery on the coast of Dos Bocas, Tabasco, more than two years ago, even though the facility wasn’t finished.
Former energy minister Rocio Nahle announced over a year ago that crude oil had been transported to the Olmeca Refinery ahead of the commencement of processing at the multi-billion-dollar facility.
And López Obrador said on Sept. 1, 2023 that the refinery would “begin producing petroleum today” and produce 290,000 barrels of gasoline by the end of the year.
But it wasn’t until Saturday that the federal government held an official “start of production” ceremony at the refinery, located near the Dos Bocas port in the municipality of Paraíso.
Production begins at the Pemex refinery in Dos Bocas
At the event — attended by López Obrador, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum and other officials — Pemex CEO Octavio Romero said that production in fact began last month.
The refinery produced more than 1.1 million barrels of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) in July, he said.
Reuters reported in late June that “Pemex officials had sought to demonstrate the refinery was operational by bringing a cargo of high-sulfur diesel to the Olmeca refinery to be turned into ultra-low-sulfur diesel.”
But Romero stressed on Saturday that the refinery is now processing crude oil.
“Today we’re reaching a processing capacity of 170,000 barrels of crude oil [per day], which is equivalent to 50% of the capacity of the Olmeca Refinery,” he said.
“During the coming days of August the maximum capacity of 340,000 barrels per day will be reached,” Romero said. The refinery will produce both gasoline and ULSD, he added.
“What is the Olmeca Refinery and what does it represent? It’s an impressive facility with a strategic location due to its proximity to the Dos Bocas maritime terminal, where more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil are received every day,” the state oil company chief said.
“Why else is it strategic? Because the costs and risks of transporting crude disappear,” Romero said.
‘Two points short’ of self-sufficiency for fuel
Romero highlighted the significant investment made in the “rehabilitation” of the national refining system in Mexico in recent years. He also predicted that fuel imports will decline to 52,000 barrels per day by the end of the current government’s six-year term later this year, from 927,000 barrels per day at the start of its term in late 2018.
“In the first quarter of next year we’ll be … [importing] 20,000 barrels [per day]; we’re going to be two points short, two points away from achieving 100% self-sufficiency,” he said.
In 2020, López Obrador pledged that Mexico would be self-sufficient in gasoline by 2023 through the rehabilitation of Mexico’s six existing refineries and the construction of a new one on the Tabasco coast.
The failure to reach self-sufficiency during this administration, Romero said Saturday, was not due to a “lack of desire,” but rather “a lack of time.”
Sheinbaum hails ‘majestic’ Dos Bocas refinery, AMLO highlights ‘record’ construction time
During an address at Saturday’s event, Sheinbaum highlighted a range of projects carried out by the government of López Obrador, her political mentor.
“They said it wasn’t going to be possible to build an airport in three years [but] the Felipe Ángeles Airport is operating and there is another [new] airport in Tulum,” she said.
The president-elect also spoke glowingly about the Maya Train railroad, the Interoceanic Railroad, the government’s social programs and the growth of Mexico’s minimum wage during López Obrador’s presidency.
“They said a refinery couldn’t be built, but today this majestic work of civil and petrochemical engineering is operating,” added Sheinbaum, who will take office as Mexico’s first female president on Oct. 1.
“With will and perseverance, without corruption, and with a lot of conviction, President López Obrador has taught us that everything is possible,” she said.
AMLO himself declared that Saturday was a “very important” and “historic” day for Mexico as the refinery is complete and is “beginning to produce” gasoline and diesel.
“It was built in record time,” he said of the refinery, construction of which began in 2019.
Nowhere else in the world are refineries built so quickly and for such a low cost, said López Obrador. He decided in May 2019 that Pemex and the Energy Ministry would oversee construction of the refinery in Dos Bocas, as the bids submitted by private companies were too high and their estimated time frames too long.
“And of course, it’s a high-quality refinery,” he said.
Romero’s fast refinery facts
The Pemex CEO offered numerous details about the Olmeca Refinery during his speech on Saturday. He said that:
- A total of US $16.81 billion was invested in the facility.
- The refinery has the capacity to process 340,000 barrels per day of crude oil and produce 304,000 barrels per day of gasoline and diesel.
- The refinery has 17 processing plants and one electric and steam cogeneration plant.
- The amount of concrete used to build the refinery was equivalent to that contained in 63 Estadios Azteca.
- The amount of steel used was equivalent to that contained in 40 Eiffel Towers.
- Construction created 44,000 direct jobs and more than 286,000 indirect ones.
- The refinery’s pipes are collectively equivalent to the distance between Mérida and Tijuana.
- More than 160 companies contributed to the construction of the refinery.
- Over 50% of the raw materials used in the construction of the facility are Mexican.
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