Lopez Obrador Says Mexico to Build an $8 Billion Refinery
- Mexico to start awarding construction contract by March 2019
- Pemex plans to improve operations of current six refineries
Mexico plans to start awarding the construction of its seventh refinery as soon as March 2019, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Sunday at an event at the Dos Bocas port in Tabasco, even as the nation´s refining system is operating at its lowest levels in three decades.
Unveiling a plan for the nation’s refining system, Lopez Obrador said Mexico will invest $8 billion in the new processing facility at Dos Bocas. "We are going to start the bidding process for the refinery by March at latest," he said to a cheering crowd in the sun-drenched town in the Gulf of Mexico, reiterating his intentions to boost fuel self-sufficiency and end long-term declines in oil output. Mexico’s oil production, on track for its 14th consecutive yearly decline, will rise "realistically" to 2.4 million barrels a day by 2024, he said.