Researched by Industrial Info Resources--Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) (Mexico City, Mexico) is not expected to start up its new 340,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Dos Bocas Olmeca refinery until late this year or even 2024, according to an IIR Energy Alert.

The Olmeca refinery, located in the Mexican state of Tabasco, is one of the flagship projects of the administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has supported the development of Pemex and wants to stop imports of refined products by expanding downstream refining capacity.

Nevertheless, the government will likely miss the start-up of its new project. According to authorities, the refinery was previously planned to process its first barrel of oil by next month.

According to the IIR Energy Alert, Pemex is starting up auxiliary services at the refinery, and once that is complete, the company will start up processing units. "The first crude run is not expected until late 2023 or even 2024," according to the alert.

The start of the Olmeca refinery will help Pemex boost its downstream sector and decrease imports of refined products.

IIR Energy's Senior Director of Energy Market Intelligence, Hillary Stevenson, said, "When the refinery is fully operational it will not only help reduce refined product imports but also decrease the amount of sour crude available for export. The Olmeca refinery will consume Maya crude, decreasing the volumes available to export to the U.S., which may strengthen the value of other Canadian and Venezuela sour grades."

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Petroleum Refining project and plant databases can click here for the Dos Bocas Olmeca project report and click here for the related plant profile.

Besides the new refinery, Pemex bought Shell plc's (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England) majority stake in the 340,000-BBL/d Deer Park refinery in Texas last year, offering the Mexican company the opportunity to expand its downstream business abroad.

Without the Olmeca refinery, Mexico has a total downstream capacity of 1.64 million BBL/d. However, crude processing across the nation's six refineries stood at 50% last year, compared to 43% in 2021 and 36% in the previous year.

Nevertheless, the company's downstream crude processing has been increasing this year, averaging 52% of total capacity in the first four months.

Pemex continues producing significant fuel oil volumes from its six Mexican refineries. In the first four months of the year, fuel oil represented an average of 31% of the total volumes, while last year, the percentage stood at 28%, and 30% in 2021.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).

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