Balancing the books while scaling up the upstream and downstream will be testing for Pemex
Headwinds buffet Pemex’s upstream progress
The NOC had a better financial quarter in Q2 but will likely need significantly more money to hit upstream goals
Mexican state oil company Pemex may have boasted almost $4bn in net income over the past 12 months, but limited capex is making long-term upstream targets look doubtful. And the government’s obsession with the loss-making downstream continues to bite into Pemex’s profits. The NOC is clearly paying some attention to its upstream pledge and is lifting crude production, albeit only marginally. Pemex averaged 1.758mn bl/d for Q2, a 1.3pc jump over Q1 and 3.8pc over Q4 last year. The average price achieved by Mexico’s crude export mix also increased by almost 90pc year-on-year, helping offset some of the company’s recent heavy financial losses. And output from new fields continues to come online.
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
