Pemex Cuts Debt Cost and Defers Supplier Payments Eight Years
Pemex's five-year CDS falls to 222 basis points and the company defers 255,388 million pesos in supplier payments until 2033; credit ratings rise as suppliers wait for payment.
The five-year credit default swap (CDS) on Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) fell to 222 basis points on August 25, 2026, down from 460 at the start of the current administration, the Ministry of Finance reported, according to El Financiero. In parallel, the state oil company deferred 255,388 million pesos in supplier payments until 2033, according to El CEO.
The improved risk perception has come alongside better credit ratings: Fitch Ratings upgraded Pemex three notches and Moody's by two during the second half of 2025, the first upgrades since 2013. On February 13, 2026, the company returned to the local capital market after six years of absence, drawing demand of 63,285 million pesos. On the other front, as documented by Expansión, Pemex acknowledged payables to suppliers and contractors of 374,334 million pesos at the end of June, 14.3% less than the 436,704 million pesos at year-end 2025, although the Mexican Association of Petroleum Service Companies (Amespac) estimates that actual obligations exceed 20 billion dollars when completed but uninvoiced work is included.
The deferred amount represents roughly 68% of acknowledged payables and is subject to a schedule of quarterly principal and interest payments, according to the report Pemex filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The figure grew 1.95% from the 250,498 million pesos recorded at the close of the first quarter of 2026, while the government injected 100,400 million pesos into the company during the semester. For service companies, the deferral extends liquidity pressure. On the July 31 investor call, Pemex CFO Elizabeth González offered no estimate for the year-end balance. Analyst Gonzalo Monroy of GMEC said that deferring payment "is no way to do business" and that the actual debt may be larger given uninvoiced work.
What comes next: the third-quarter report will reveal whether the deferred balance continues to grow, and Amespac will watch its receivables against the eight-year payment schedule, in a semester during which rating agencies continue to track the upgraded ratings.
This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.
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This article was drafted with AI assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.