Mexico City, Mexico — Pemex has taken control of the Deer Park Refinery in Texas. On Friday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador made the announcement after the deal was completed the day before.
On Friday morning, AMLO said the refinery fully belonged to Mexico after the finalizing of the purchase from Shell on Thursday. “With this, progress is made in the purpose that we can process all the crude oil that is produced in Mexico and convert it into gasoline to stop importing gasoline and diesel, to have energy self-sufficiency,” he explained.
AMLO confirmed that the general director of Pemex, Octavio Romero Oropeza, consolidated the operation in Houston, Texason Thursday. Prior, Shell had 50.1 percent of the shares and Pemex 49.9 percent. Being the majority shareholder, the U.S. company managed the plant and the profits obtained were reinvested.
“Now we have decided to acquire part of Shell so that one hundred percent of the shares are owned by the nation, by Mexico. So we already have one more refinery as of Thursday,” he said.
Pemex took control of the Deer Park refinery after closing the purchase agreement with Royal Dutch Shell for $596 million USD.
“There are not going to be layoffs, there is not going to be a decrease in salary, benefits are not going to be taken away from the workers, from the administrative staff. I am sure that we are going to continue working with the same enthusiasm, with the same professionalism and we are going to continue producing, guaranteeing profitability in the company,” the Mexican president said.
The oil plant, which Pemex now owns, has the capacity to process 340,000 barrels per day. Romero Oropez said that currently, the refinery produces more than 250,000 barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel daily.
It will join the new Dos Bocas refinery in Paraíso, Tabasco and the six that are being rehabilitated in Cadereyta, Madero, Minatitlán, Salamanca, Tula and Salina Cruz, in addition to the coking plant in Tula, Hidalgo, AMLO added.
