(Expansion) – Even before winning the elections that took him to the National Palace, President López Obrador was aware of the challenge he faced in terms of rescuing Pemex and the state that kept the assets of the oil company, among which stand out for its deterioration the petrochemical complexes.
Six-year after six-year term, since at least the second half of the 90s, the neglect of this industry has been gradual but constant, to the point that today – decades later and almost halfway through the current administration – it is sad to go to Cangrejera, go to the petrochemical plants that were completely abandoned .
These are words that López Obrador pronounced in the morning conference in the past, and added: Let’s see, do we get to rescue the petrochemical company? We are not going to achieve it, we are going to leave the bases, but we are not going to be able to, because they took pains to destroy the petrochemical industry.
It is not the first time that AMLO has said something similar about it. On June 6, 2020, from the La Cangrejera petrochemical complex in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, he warned: “[we are going to] do what we can to initiate the reestablishment of a national petrochemical policy. Leave the bases, the foundations, for other governments to continue and reestablish the greatness, the splendor of the national petrochemical industry. “
When you visit the complexes and review the production numbers, it is not difficult to agree with AMLO when he points out the conditions they are in. However, many have to wonder what it really means when AMLO says “we are going to leave the bases” since this position seems to be somewhat different from what AMLO has previously declared, including also the Secretary of Energy, Rocío Nahle.
In 2019, in Camargo, Chihuahua, at the foot of an ammonia plant and together with Pemex workers, López Obrador “we will bring the petrochemical plants out of ruin to produce fertilizers and increase production in the field.”
For her part, Rocío Nahle has also spoken about the need to pay attention to the petrochemical industry. In July 2019, the head of the Ministry of Energy, who, when meeting with the Business Coordinating Council, “also considered the option for Pemex to sign collaboration agreements with companies in the transformation industry to rehabilitate some petrochemical facilities and reintegrate important chains derived from ethylene and methane. “
A little over a year later, when the 52nd ANIQ Chemical Industry Forum was inaugurated in October 2020, the press reported Nahle’s participation with headlines – “Sener goes to rescue the chemical industry” or “Trazan plan of action to rescue petrochemicals ”- reflecting the government’s interest in addressing the backwardness of the state petrochemicals.
The point is that, beyond the rhetoric, what seems to have the most influence in this change in the official position are the limited resources of the Mexican state, for which the priority lies in refining. So what AMLO said recently implies a surrender to a problem that has been recognized as important, and that suggests that for the remainder of the administration, the decline of the state petrochemical company will simply be contained without promoting any significant progress.
If this is the case, the implications are various, from the possibility that imports will increase, making the country even more dependent, to limiting the development of productive activities that require petrochemical inputs.
However, it should not be forgotten that AMLO’s arguments refer mainly to Pemex. Which makes us wonder if that leaves room for the private sector to invest. The Mexican market is attractive, there is interest. It would be unfortunate if the contribution that private capital can make to the development of petrochemicals in Mexico is not considered in the second half of the six-year term.
Editor’s Note: Adrián Duhalt is a postdoctoral researcher in energy issues at the Baker Institute at Rice University. Follow him on Twitter as and on. The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
