Mexico launches new oil refinery, denies photo voltaic permits
MEXICO CITY — The workplace of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated Friday that the brand new Gulf coast oil refinery he ordered constructed is “a dream come true.”
López Obrador “inaugurated” the partially completed Olmeca oil refinery in Dos Bocas, a metropolis in his house state of Tabasco. He bragged that his authorities had determined to disregard “the siren calls … that the oil period was over.”
His administration has been so dedicated to grease — and so opposed to non-public renewable vitality schemes — that on Friday it additionally denied a request by German carmaker Audi to construct a photo voltaic vitality facility at one in all its factories.
The refinery mission, when completed, is anticipated to price as a lot as $12 billion, nicely above authentic estimates of $9 billion.
In 2021, Mexico agreed to purchase Shell’s 50% share within the collectively owned Deer Park refinery close to Houston, Texas for about $600 million. The 2 refineries would have related capacities, resulting in questions concerning the a lot bigger funding in constructing a brand new refinery.
The brand new refinery is a part of López Obrador’s startegy of constructing Mexico self-sufficient in gasoline, which it has lengthy imported. He famous Mexico had not constructed a brand new refinery for the reason that Seventies.
The eventual opening of the plant comes as many vitality corporations try to exit the traditionally low-margin refining companies, as demand for renewable vitality will increase.
“We didn’t take note of the siren calls, the voices that predicted, maybe in good religion, that the oil period was over, and that electrical automobiles and renewable vitality was arriving massively,” López Obrador stated.
Later Friday, the Setting Division introduced that Audi Mexico’s request for permits to construct a solar-panel array at its plant within the central state of Puebla had been denied on technical grounds.
López Obrador has handed legal guidelines limiting the quantity of electricty that personal fuel and renewable vitality services can promote, and placing them final in line for energy buying, behind government-owned crops that usually burndirty gasoline oil.
