Mexico’s president criticizes Shell-Pemex joint venture in Texas refinery

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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday criticized the partnership between state oil company Pemex and Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell at a refinery in Texas, United States, arguing that it has not yielded benefits for Mexico.

The president, a nationalist in energy matters, said that since the partnership with Shell was established in 1993, no profits have been repatriated to Pemex because they are reinvested.

“We are addressing that issue,” López Obrador said at his daily press conference when asked about the society in Deer Park, but did not elaborate on the matter.

“Since it was built there have been no benefits for Mexico, if only that Mexican crude can be processed,” he added.

Pemex sells Maya heavy crude to Deer Park, which has a capacity to process up to 340,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, through a long-term supply contract.

The Mexican state company and Shell agreed in 2018 to extend the term of Maya’s contract, halving the supply of more than 150,000 bpd and negotiating a fixed price starting in 2023, according to local press reports.