Paraíso, Tabasco — On July 1, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the first stage of the Olmeca refinery in the state of Tabasco.
“It is a dream come true (…) a hallmark of out transformation,” he commented during the ceremony outside the city of Paraiso.
López Obrador said that the Olmeca refinery becomes the seventh of the National Refining System owned by Pemex. It will contribute to achieving energy self-sufficiency in Mexico by processing 340,000 barrels of crude oil per day, of which 170,000 barrels of gasoline and 120,000 barrels of ultra-low sulfur diesel will be produced.
“The operation of the project, together with the Deer Park refinery in Texas and the six existing refineries which are currently being modernized, will reduce fuel imports because the raw material can be processed in the country and achieve independence in gasoline and diesel,” he said.
The objective is turn Mexico into a self-sufficient country, he stressed. The national infrastructure rehabilitation projects have allowed an increase from 485,000 to 863,000 barrels per day, and in 2023, there will be capacity to process 1.2 million barrels.
“We are preparing to stop importing gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to be self-sufficient, to create jobs in the country and to dedicate these fuels to the internal market and to national development,” he added.