As the end of his term approaches, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the prospective president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, inaugurated the Dos Bocas refinery in Tabasco, which is currently operating at 50 percent capacity.
The event, held on Saturday, August 3, saw Sheinbaum declare, "Today marks the beginning of operations for the best work of civil, petrochemical, and petroleum engineering, despite those who said it couldn't be done during this administration." She emphasized that the federal leader demonstrated that anything is possible.
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"People said a refinery couldn't be built, but today, it has started operations as the finest civil, petrochemical, and petroleum engineering work, achieved with willpower, tenacity, no corruption, and strong conviction. President López Obrador has shown us that anything is possible," Sheinbaum affirmed.
In front of workers and builders, Sheinbaum expressed pride in the collaborative effort that made this milestone possible, strengthening national sovereignty after 36 years of neoliberal attempts to privatize oil and Pemex.
Sheinbaum criticized previous administrations for irresponsibly exploiting the Cantarell oil field to sell foreigners gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and electric gas. "We cannot forget those governments irresponsibly overexploited the Cantarell field, producing 3.4 million barrels daily to sell abroad. Meanwhile, they abandoned the plantation and, in a true act of irresponsibility under the guise of efficiency, began importing gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and electric gas," she explained.
Dos Bocas refinery has been operational since July
President López Obrador hailed the day as historic, marking it as a turning point for Mexico. "This is a significant day, as often said, for what our people are achieving. Remember that the engine of change is the people of Mexico. It is a special, historic day because this project is completed and begins producing gasoline and fuels. It was built in record time, unmatched by any other country," he stated.
Pemex's Director General, Octavio Romero Oropeza, disclosed that although Saturday marked the official start, the Dos Bocas refinery had been operational since July. "In this event, although termed 'Start of Production of the Olmeca Refinery,' we must clarify... Since last July, we began producing ultra-low sulfur diesel, reaching over 1.1 million barrels already sold via ships," he explained.
Romero Oropeza highlighted that on August 21, the refinery will begin operating at total capacity, processing 340,000 barrels of crude daily. He also noted that the project involved an investment of 16.816 billion dollars.