Mexico’s largest refinery, Dos Bocas Refinery, infamously known as the Olmeca refinery has begun operations.
This came to light following the start of crude oil loading at the facility towards the end of June 2023. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) announced that for the start of the oil loading phase, a valve from a pipeline carrying the commodity was opened at the Port of Dos Bocas in the southern state of Tabasco.
The crude oil is being supplied by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) from their Dos Bocas maritime terminal. According to RocÃo Nahle, the country’s Secretary of Energy, approximately 1 million barrels of oil were fed into the Olmeca refinery.
Starting capacity of the Dos Bocas Refinery in Mexico
The Dos Bocas Refinery will process between 80,000 and 100,000 barrels of oil a day this year. Â This is reportedly between 41% and 53% lower compared to what the federal government had announced.
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In January 2023, AMLO assured that the complex would start in July with a processing capacity of 170,000 barrels per day. That capacity is approximately 50% of Dos Bocas Refinery’s total capacity. The remaining 170,000 barrels per day, the president said, would be incorporated in December 2023.
In his latest speech, AMLO maintained that the facility is expected to ramp up to full capacity by next year.
Olmeca refinery to contribute to AMLO’s goal to make the country self-sufficient
AMLO has committed to making Mexico self-sufficient as far as crude oil products are concerned. Dos Bocas Refinery is thus expected to contribute immensely to this goal.
Particularly, according to the president, the Dos Bocas Refinery will help wean Mexico off of imported motor fuels. Reportedly, almost all of the fuels are supplied by U.S. refiners and that “undermines the Mexicos sovereignty.” Additionally, AMLO believes that the refinery can better protect the country’s motorists’ wallets from the volatility of the international oil market.
