The CEO of Pemex, Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, says the Mexican state oil firm is picking up the pace of change with more and more asset sell-offs, farm-outs and joint ventures coming down the line, according to Reuters.
Gonzalez Anaya, who replaced Emilio Lozoya Austin as CEO in February, is speeding up plans to reform the company.
Energy industry reform has been Mexican government policy since 2013 and a large plank of that has been about dismantling Pemex’s monopoly position in oil production, which it has held since 1938.
Bidding for oil and gas blocks has been opened up to private and foreign entities but market conditions have meant the early take up has been poor at auctions.
But that hasn’t dissuaded Gonzalez Anaya, who was previously Mexico’s deputy finance minister.
Pemex’s budget has been slashed by $5.4bn for 2016. Earlier this month the company sold an $11bn stake in the Trion field in the Gulf of Mexico.
Further asset sales are going to be more frequent, Gonzalez Anaya says, in all parts of the firm’s portfolio including oil fields, ports and refineries.
Going against the trend, one planned joint venture is being delayed. The project – to build pipelines for exporting liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) and refined fuels from the US to northern Mexico – is a JV between Pemex and San Antonio-based NuStar Energy LP.
It was originally scheduled to be ready this year but has been deferred to 2017 for reasons that NuStar says are linked to the change in leadership at Pemex.
