Introduction to Pemex and its Financial Situation
Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company, estimates that it will close 2025 with financial liabilities amounting to $84,600 million. This represents a 15% decrease compared to the third quarter report and a 13.4% reduction from the end of 2024, marking its lowest debt level in over a decade.
Debt Reduction Strategies
The significant debt reduction is attributed to various liability management operations supported by Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) throughout 2025. These operations include:
- Issuing pre-capitalization notes (P-Caps) to exchange liabilities for cheaper debt
- Repurchasing bonds and issuing new titles for over $13,000 million to smooth out the debt maturity profile
Payment to Suppliers
Pemex’s General Director, Víctor Rodríguez Padilla, reported that through a coordinated financing program with Banobras and self-funding, the company paid $390,203 million pesos to suppliers in 2025. This covered the needs for 2025, leaving only the remaining balance from 2024 to be paid this year.
These actions were positively evaluated by credit rating agencies, which improved Pemex’s credit rating for the first time in over a decade.
Impact on Providers
Rodríguez Padilla explained that, by the end of last year, payments to Pemex’s providers from petroleum entities like Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz, and Tamaulipas were less than in 2024 when the disbursement was $404,454 million pesos.
Government Support and Future Investments
During the presidential morning conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that the federal government will continue supporting Pemex to settle or renegotiate its debt obligations beyond 2027 if necessary.
Rodríguez Padilla also mentioned that for 2026, Pemex plans to invest $425,000 million in projects related to oil fields and increasing crude and gas production. The targets remain extracting 1.8 million barrels of liquids per day and 4,500 million cubic meters of gas. In 2025, the average levels were 1.635 million barrels of hydrocarbons and 4,596 million cubic meters of gas.
Crude Oil Exports to Cuba
President Sheinbaum and Pemex’s General Director affirmed that crude oil exports to Cuba can continue due to an open credit that generates obligations in this regard. Mexico will make sovereign decisions on humanitarian matters while considering business rationality for Pemex’s sales.
Rodríguez Padilla detailed that Pemex exported 1% of its oil production and 0.1% of petroleum sales to Cuba, generating $496 million in 2025. Despite threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on countries selling energy to the island, Pemex intends to maintain these sales if there’s availability.
“We seek to refine the maximum possible crude in our refineries,” Rodríguez Padilla said, adding that there is an open credit with Cuba for continued exports. “They always pay on time,” making it a business decision to export more than what is sent for humanitarian aid.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is Pemex’s current debt situation? Pemex estimates closing 2025 with $84,600 million in financial liabilities, a 15% decrease from the third quarter and 13.4% less than 2024, marking its lowest debt level in over a decade.
- How did Pemex reduce its debt? Through operations supported by Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), including issuing pre-capitalization notes and repurchasing bonds, Pemex reduced its debt by approximately $20,000 million since 2018.
- What are Pemex’s plans for future investments? For 2026, Pemex intends to invest $425,000 million in oil field projects and increasing crude and gas production, aiming to extract 1.8 million barrels of liquids per day and 4,500 million cubic meters of gas.
- How does Pemex’s relationship with Cuba affect its operations? An open credit with Cuba allows Pemex to continue exporting crude oil, generating $496 million in 2025. Despite threats from the U.S., Pemex intends to maintain these sales if there’s availability, prioritizing refinery output.
