The price of premium gasoline exceeded 20 pesos per liter Friday at some gas stations in Mexico City, according to data from the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE).
The price, near the highest since November, was also reported in Michoacán, Jalisco, Sonora and Chihuahua.
Pablo González, president of the Mexican Association of Gasoline Businessmen (Amegas), explained that the increase in the price “is not the fault of the gasolineros” but because of fuel’s import cost.
He noted that 90 percent of Magna gasoline and up to 98 percent of premium gasoline consumed in Mexico is imported, mainly from the United States.
Hoping to offset that imbalance, Pemex is nearly ready to start drilling in the first major offshore discovery made since Mexico ended its 75-year oil monopoly, the Houston Chronicle reported.
“That is going to be a very big milestone in the energy sector in Mexico,” said Carlos Treviño, chief executive of Petróleos Mexicanos, which he said is learning to operate as a global energy company, rather than a state-run monopoly.
That’s why Pemex is playing a bigger role at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference in Houston with one of the event’s biggest exhibits – a large, two-story booth shaped like an oil platform.
Pemex struggled with finances during the recent oil bust as its monopoly ended, but is now getting back on track, Treviño said.
Amegas’ Gonzalez said that if Mexico produced its own gasoline, the price could go down, because of lower logistical costs. Others have said that prospect is unlikely because of the cost of building refineries.
Currently in Mexico at least 30 companies that market fuel — Gulf, BP, Shell, Total, G500, Repsol among others — pump Pemex fuel under heir own brand names.
Sources: Houston Chronicle, El Universal
