Mexico’s President-elect Slams Pemex For Crude Import Plan

Mexico’s president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Oct. 23 criticized state-run Pemex’s plan to import U.S. light crude from refiner Phillips 66, calling it a sign of the country’s failed economic policies.

Pemex is set to begin crude imports in November, for the first time in over a decade. It needs them to feed Mexico’s main refinery, which is working below capacity due to a lack of light oil.

The purchase of 1.4 million barrels (MMbbl) of U.S. Bakken crude will follow a tender awarded earlier this week to Phillips 66. Up to 100,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of crude imports are planned for the last quarter of 2018.