Fuel in Mexico after Harvey

[Tequila]

Since Mexico is importing about 55% of its fuel right now, I am thinking a couple of gerry cans may be in order since I am crossign in mid Oct. I remember the closures last December

[briansue]

I have no idea what this means but I have posted about it before. There is only one refinery in the state of Colorado and most gasoline stations get their gasoline from that one refinery. To me that would indicate the name on the sign and any station doesn't mean a whole lot since almost all the gasoline comes from the same place. The name on the station has to do with a retail operation and not necessarily oil production or refining. So in Mexico my guess would be there is no way to know where the fuel in the pumps actually came from.

http://refineryreport.org/numill.php?id=1481 ............ Only refinery in Colorado

There are lots of online resources where you can learn about refineries and what they do - U.S. Energy Information Administration would be one - Wikipedia has lists of all refineries in the world.

[moisheh]

Actually there is a chain of Pemex stations in Hermosillo that ask every customer if they want the pump verified. They have those fancy graduated beakers at the pumps. They pump a few litres into the beaker and you can do a visual. That fuel is poured into your tank. I have checked a few times and the pump dispenses slightly more than the pump reading.

Moisheh

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Ya think maybe, just "maybe" the knowledge the new station "accurate dispensers" would have -anything at all- to do with the long lines? Wotta hoot.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

FOR THE "I WANNA READ IT IN THE NEWSPAPER" crowd. A Cut and Paste
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Mexico News Daily | Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The multinational energy firm Chevron opened its first gas station in Mexico on Sunday in Hermosillo, Sonora, adding to the competition in a formerly monopolized market.

Supplied by state oil company Pemex, Chevron’s fuel is more expensive than that of Pemex stations and up to 60% higher than in the United States.

However, that didn’t deter motorists with long lines of vehicles seen waiting to fill up at the new station on its opening day.

A price comparison by the newspaper El Universal found that Chevron’s prices are slightly above those at Pemex with a liter of premium fuel selling for 17.79 pesos (US $0.99) while a liter of regular fuel costs 15.99 pesos.

The U.S. owned company, which is involved in all stages of oil production, has 22,000 gas stations on six continents including almost 1,500 in Latin America.

Sonora Economy Secretary Jorge Vidal Ahumada said that while Pemex will supply Chevron for its first months of operations, the company will eventually import its own fuel from California.

Before that happens, economist and researcher Luis Huesca Reynoso doesn’t forecast any reduction in prices.

He said the energy reforms that put an end to the state monopoly in the oil sector are moving slowly and have not yet extended to foreign oil production, meaning that for the time being Chevron will have to continue buying fuel from Pemex.

That means the company is subject to an excise tax (IEPS) and value-added tax (IVA) and prevented from selling below the price floor established by Pemex.

Those taxes make gas in Mexico almost six pesos more expensive per liter than in the United States, Huesca said.

The president of Onexpo, a gas station trade organization, agrees that gas prices are unlikely to come down.

Instead, Luis Horacio Muñoz said that the point of difference offered by Chevron is a fuel additive called Techron.

A Chevron official said the company plans to open a new station every week between now and the end of the year in Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California.

Chevron is the latest international company to enter a market that was previously closed to all but Pemex. BP opened its first gas station in the country in March while the 7-Eleven convenience store chain is also establishing itself as a petroleum retailer in Mexico and has ambitious plans to expand.

*My note
Polyurea (nitrogen) TECHRON additive is added at the refinery. Guess who among the "experts" above is delusional. The gas lines remind me of the first McDonalds to open in Tecate BC, 17 years ago. The line extended two hundred yards.

Reports at (guess) work strike again

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Crossing with filled cans is a federal law no-no. All the signs in Aduana offices clearly state it, and griping about getting caught has been a travel forum point for years. Shell Pemex Deer Park TX refinery is still operating and that refinery is just East of Houston near the ship channel. No flood there because of drainage canals.

The main pipeline network enters Mexico at Laredo and El Paso. This network connects to USA West Coast refineries in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Anacortes, WA.

So shortages may not be as ominous a threat as they may appear on the surface.

Shell Oil, Chevron, and Exxon annual refinery maintenance turnrounds are not due to appear until late Sept, early October.


UPDATE

Several Texas refineries went off-line today 08/30/2017
Two things to consider. USA gasoline inventories are at an all time high. It may not matter "why" as far as reduced production but because so many refineries across so wide an area chose a particular day to shut down after the storm passed, may be seen as "quite peculiar". Areas surrounding the refineries still have electrical power. Oil companies having been moaning about low pump prices in the USA. I was standing twenty feet away from A.J. Woods, manager (of all) Shell Oil Co. refineries when he said "We're going to fix their ass!" in response to US congress ending of the USA crude oil depletion tax allowance in 1972. Immediately afterward gasoline prices surged and never looked back.

The hated Gasolinaza in Mexico backed down Mexican refinery output over 30%. Even though ramping production back up will stress old process units, if Pemex elects to not increase production it's going to cause a political fury if there is a shortage of fuel down here. Pemex also has the option of purchasing more Japanese refined gasoline

More certain is a sharp spike in USA gasoline prices. Fifty cents a gallon? A dollar per gallon? Have to wait and see.

[BB_TX]

Can't help with gas. And you have probably already seen it, but the travel warnings have been bumped up considerably in the last few weeks.