Sheinbaum Reviewed 13% Drop in Pemex Gasoline Output With Officials

Pemex gasoline production fell 13% and diesel output 11% between the first and second quarters of 2026, while diesel imports rose 134% and gasoline imports 45%, according to the report Forbes México published on September 17, 2026. The report, based on four anonymous sources, describes a meeting at the National Palace in late July to review the company's performance.

The review comes after President Claudia Sheinbaum said on April 1 that Mexico had reached self-sufficiency in diesel and was close to achieving it in gasoline, a claim El Economista contrasts with the volumes imported between April and July. In recent years the government injected billions of dollars into Pemex through debt support, tax exemptions and financing for suppliers, with the expectation of raising fuel production, according to the report. The effect crosses the border: foreign purchases come largely from US refineries, so Mexico's refining deficit translates into demand for the US Gulf Coast.

In value terms, the combined import bill for gasoline and diesel went from about $2.46 billion in the first quarter to nearly $6.06 billion in the second, according to El Economista. The sources cited by Forbes México also reported 12 accidents at Pemex refineries during the year, leaving six people dead and ten injured. Two days after the meeting, Energy Secretary Luz Elena González met with company executives, who agreed to weekly reviews of refinery performance; six sources said the measures did not reverse the deterioration. "The company's main problem is maintenance," said analyst Ramsés Pech.

What to watch: the weekly refinery performance reviews and Pemex's upcoming production reports. July data showed an improvement over June, with lower imported volumes, according to El Economista.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.