The Mexican government has unveiled a US$16bn investment plan to boost the domestic oil production, refinery capacity and hydropower generation. US$9.5bn will be invested in 2019 to upgrade existing refineries, build a new one for US$8.6bn in Dos Bocas in the state of Tabasco and increase oil exploration.
The country's crude oil output is flagging and declines to 1.88 md/d in the first half of 2018 down from 3.4 mb/d in 2005 and the government plans to add 600,000 bbl/d in the next two years to reach 2.5 mb/d. The main drivers behind this decline are the natural depletion of oil fields and a lack of investment. In 2018, Mexico imported 590,000 bbl/d of gasoline and 232,000 bbl/d of diesel from the Unites States while the domestic output has halved since 2013.
