"It will produce 20% of the gasoline we need," announced the president of Mexico during a press conference.
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, reported that Dos Bocas will begin refining fuel next April.
“Yes, I can say that thanks to the fact that we are rehabilitating the refineries, thanks to the fact that the Deer Park refinery was purchased… we are already on the verge of the Dos Bocas refinery starting to produce. I believe that by, at the latest, April, next month (it will begin to produce fuel)… and it will produce 20% of the gasoline that we need,” announced the president of Mexico.
Furthermore, the president, in the morning press conference this Monday, March 11, highlighted that these achievements have been achieved in record time and at a competitive price, even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since September 2023, the authorities detailed that primary gasoline with a capacity of 340 thousand barrels per day was already being produced in the aforementioned facilities, and that it had received its first load of crude oil. However, in December of last year Pemex indicated that the facilities were being inspected so that the Olmeca refinery could plan its start-up date.
On the other hand, in January, AMLO detailed that Dos Bocas would be operating at 100% of its capacity in February.
"In the case of the Dos Bocas refinery we have almost a year of testing and it is not until next month (February) that it will begin processing at full capacity, but it takes time," he said on January 12, 2024.
End to fuel dependency
AMLO explained that this strategy seeks to end Mexico's historical dependence on gasoline imports, which dates back to the neoliberal period that began in the 1980s. For decades, Mexico has exported crude oil and imported refined gasoline, which has contributed to a constant increase in fuel prices and a loss of added value for the national economy.
"We are going to be very close to self-sufficiency in September and, thanks to this refinery plan, the price of gasoline will not increase... because this is precisely due to the refineries, because before we sold crude oil and we bought gasoline," he explained. Lopez Obrador.
