PEMEX — Staggering Loss — Mexico: The Poster Child For Peak Oil -- February 27. 2023

There’s only one explanation for a loss like this.

Link here to Charles Kennedy.

Mexico’s president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) campaigned on promises of reviving Pemex for the national interest; however, while oil companies the world over raked in windfall profits on the back of Russia’s war on Ukraine and sanctions last year, Pemex has moved sharply in the opposite direction

Government intervention, in the form of $45 billion in capital injections, tax breaks and other machinations has failed to move the needle and the plan to boost production by moving offshore production to shallower waters and focusing more attention on onshore plays has likewise met with no success.

So, what was the loss?

Pemex, for 4Q22, reported $9.4 billion in losses in a single quarter, more than triple the losses of the previous quarter.

Pemex output fell to 1.62 million barrels per day in 2022, the third year that Pemex has reported a decline.

As of April, 2022: 

From National Gas Intelligence:

The company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of 172.4 billion pesos ($9.4 billion) after a 52- billion peso loss in the third quarter.

In 4Q2021, Pemex reported a loss of 124 billion pesos.

On the bright side, Pemex managed to turn a profit of 23 billion pesos, or about $1.25 billion, over the course of 2022. It was the first positive annual result in a decade

In 2021, Pemex reported a loss of 295 billion pesos.

During an earnings call on Monday, executives also highlighted work to lower the company’s debt burden. Total debt fell to around $107 billion, from $109 billion at end-2021. Production also was up. Natural gas output in the fourth quarter was 3.91 Bcf/d, compared to 3.72 Bcf/d in the year-earlier period. In 2022, gas production averaged 3.87 Bcf/d, compared to 3.69 Bcf/d in 2021.

The improved result was mainly due to new fields in the southeast, such as gas-rich Quesqui. Executives also highlighted improved drilling times.