Dos Bocas Refinery Startup Outlook

Mexico has struggled to achieve self-sufficiency for transport fuels over the last two decades, with an ailing domestic refinery system struggling to keep up with the demands of a growing economy. As part of a wider effort to reinvigorate the downstream arm of national oil company Pemex, a new 340 kb/d refinery was announced in 2018, with plans to be built in the Tabasco region for Mexico. The refinery (typically referred to as Dos Bocas or Olmeca) is designed to process heavy, sour Mexican crude, and has begun the early phases of commissioning. In this review, we provide our outlook on the impacts of this new asset.