The head of Mexico’s state oil firm Pemex stepped down from his post after failing to turn around the slumping concern, according to Bloomberg.
Emilio Lozoya Austin had been CEO since late 2012 but Pemex’s output and financial performance had continued to decline during his three-plus years at the helm.
National president Enrique Pena Nieto on Monday said that Lozoya Austin would be replaced by Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, current head of the Social Security Institute and a former deputy finance minister.
Also on Monday Finance Minister Luis Videgaray said the Pemex board would soon be announcing further budget cuts as the world oil-price plunge continues to take its toll.
The announcements came a day after a fire on a Pemex platform in the Gulf of Mexico claimed the lives of three workers.
Pemex has been transitioning away from its monopoly position in the country’s oil production industry as the government attempts to improve productivity by reforming the energy sector and allowing private – including foreign – players into the market.
Much of the country’s potential and developed oil reserves are offshore, especially in the Gulf of Mexico.
