Mexico's Pemex says it halved supplier debt under current government

MEXICO CITY, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex has paid down half of its debts to suppliers since Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, the company's chief executive said on Friday.

Chief Executive Victor Rodriguez said in a presentation to Congress that the company had paid 300 billion pesos ($16.33 billion) to suppliers as of September and had used a recently created financial vehicle to pay off supplier debts.
"We have paid off the financial debt we inherited on time and properly; the amounts owed to suppliers have been cut in half," Rodriguez said in an appearance before Congress.

About 26 billion pesos in payments were made to suppliers last week and the company will pay another 116 billion pesos in December, the CEO added.

Pemex, one of the world's most heavily indebted energy companies, owes nearly $100 billion in financial debt. Rodriguez said a recent $12 billion bond buyback will reduce that to around $85 billion.

PRODUCTION GOALS

The Pemex chief said the company aims to maintain crude oil output between 1.6 million and 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) despite battling a monthly decline of about 30,000 bpd due to depleted fields and a lack of major discoveries.

The company plans to reduce exports and process about 1.4 million bpd domestically across seven refineries, Rodriguez said.

The new Olmeca refinery in southern Mexico is processing 230,000 bpd, with plans to reach 320,000 bpd, the CEO said, adding that its refinery in Deer Park, Texas, is under major maintenance and expected to increase output to 310,000 bpd from 270,000-280,000 bpd.

Since the previous administration, the government has bolstered Pemex with multibillion-dollar capital injections and debt reductions.

($1 = 18.3694 Mexican pesos)