Sheinbaum picks physicist to lead Pemex

Mexico’s President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum named energy specialist Víctor Rodríguez as the new CEO of the country’s highly indebted oil giant Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).

Rodríguez, who has spent decades studying the energy sector as an academic, said at a press conference on Monday that he will work closely with the finance ministry to “stabilize” the finances at Pemex, which is saddled with about $100 billion in debt.

“Pemex is not a dead company nor is it as bad as media outlets think,” Rodríguez said.

“Coordination with [Finance Minister] Rogelio Rodríguez de la O will be fundamental in order to stabilize the financial situation and finance future projects,” he said, according to the infobae website. “In recent years we have rescued Petróleos Mexicanos, which was cast off by the neoliberal policies of the previous governments. We have limited imports, we are close to self-sufficiency and there has been a very important effort in terms of rescuing the company,” he added, according to the report.

A physicist and professor of energy engineering at the country’s biggest university, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Rodríguez, has been an advisor to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. He holds a doctorate in energy economics from Grenoble University in France and has co-authored texts with Sheinbaum, who is also a scientist and former academic.

He is set to take the helm of a company that has been unable to make key investments required to revert a slide in oil production.

DEBT BURDEN

The administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been taking steps to alleviate the Pemex’s debt, more than a quarter of which matures between 2024 and 2026, including by making transfers from the national budget.

The company posted a net loss of MXN255.9 billion ($13.9 billion) in the second quarter, compared with a MXN25.4 billion profit in the same period of 2023.

Rocío Robles, founding partner of consulting firm Lobbying México, said the incoming CEO appears well-placed to take the decisions needed to improve the company’s fortunes, including closing business lines if necessary.

“It seems to me that there will be rigor and a thorough analysis of the debt, where in a methodical and structured way, as an engineer, an academic, he will be able to identify the opportunities, the risks,” she told LatinFinance.

Pemex’s debt maturities as of March 31, 2024 

Source: Pemex (the data does not include revolving credit lines or other short- and long-term liabilities and does not include accrued interest)