Mexico imports more gasoline as oil production drops

LOS ANGELES, Apr. 22 — Mexico’s gasoline imports rose to 360,700 b/d in March, the highest level since November 2007. This coincided with a 7.8% decline in the country’s oil production in this year’s first quarter to 2.91 million b/d, largely due to declining output from traditional oil fields.

State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos said March gasoline imports were up 6.5% compared with February, largely due to increasing numbers of cars in the country that consume some 41% of total supply.

Gasoline imports are projected to increase by 58% to 489,000 b/d by 2015 unless new refining capacity comes online, according to a recent report by the energy ministry. It said Pemex has not built a refinery since 1979.

Pemex is already drafting plans for a plant with two separate refining trains that would process 300,000 b/d by about 2015.

Oil and Gas Journal