Neither Pemex nor the energy ministry responded to requests for comment.
Late last year, Pemex said it would end gas flaring at Ixachi after reports of Reuters on violations of the development plans in the two fields and related fines.
Under pressure to meet President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s ambitious production targets, The oil company has been repeatedly fined by the oil regulator for breaching its own commitments for the development of the Ixachi and Quesqui deposits.
The plans, for exploration and production of natural gas and other hydrocarbons in Veracruz and Tabasco states, were approved by the regulator, which is responsible for ensuring compliance.
The burning of gas and condensate – a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons similar to very light crude – has also caused extensive environmental damage.
Reuters reported last year that Pemex had excessively flared gas throughout the region, but the value of the destruction had not been reported until now.
Mexico, the eighth country in the world that burns the most gas, is under increasing pressure, including from the United States, to reduce this practice and methane emissions.
Managing emissions will become increasingly difficult as fields age and the world’s most indebted oil company lacks sufficient funds to upgrade its failing infrastructure.
In Ixachi, the destruction was especially dramatic because production began a year earlier. The documents show that Pemex flared some 62.9 billion cubic feet of gas and 310,000 barrels of condensate.
Reuters reported last year that Pemex had excessively flared gas throughout the region, but the value of the destruction had not been reported until now.
Mexico, the eighth country in the world that burns the most gas, it is coming under increasing pressure, including from the United States, to eliminate the practice and methane emissions.
Managing emissions will become increasingly difficult as fields age and the world’s most indebted oil company lacks sufficient funds to upgrade its failing infrastructure.
In Ixachi, the destruction was especially dramatic because production began a year earlier. The documents show that Pemex flared some 62.9 billion cubic feet of gas and 310,000 barrels of condensate.
This is equivalent to 31% of the total gas produced in the field and 1.3% of the total condensate, according to Reuters calculations.
The documents were sent to Mexican energy secretary Rocío Nahle, the head of regulatory compliance for Pemex’s exploration and production arm, and high-level officials from the regulator and the interior ministry.
lost infrastructure
Pemex produced 201.2 billion cubic feet of gas and 24.3 million barrels of condensate at Ixachi. But still he did not reach his goals.
The documents also show that 77.6% of the investment in the field that Pemex had promised in its development plan – for a total of 2.9 billion dollars – was not carried out.
López Obrador declared at the beginning of his presidency that Ixachi and Quesqui were part of 17 new priority fields that were expected to drastically boost national production as part of a broader effort to make the country energy independent.
The fields needed to receive more resources so that Pemex could start exploration and production faster and offset the decline in pumping from aging fields in other areas.
But Pemex did not complete the wells, pipelines and other infrastructure needed to produce gas and condensate in the fields without high levels of waste.
In Ixachi, the destruction of value from the burning of condensate was more than 21 million dollars in three years; in Quesqui, of almost eight million dollars in two years, the documents show.
Until now, no condensate has been reported to be burned in the reservoirs as well. According to the legislation, the documentation related to these infractions is not made public.
“In order to maximize the use of all the hydrocarbons produced in the field,” said one of the documents, adding that Pemex “failed to comply with the promised production, this is due to the lack of development of the wells and infrastructure approved in the plan.”
In the documents, the regulator recommends changes so that Pemex avoids “the burning and destruction of the commercial value of hydrocarbons.”
Historically, Pemex has considered investing in infrastructure to explore and produce gas too expensive and has instead imported much of the fuel from the United States.
In recent years, the company has come under pressure from environmental damage associated with gas flaring.
Late last year, Pemex acknowledged in its updated business plan for the 2023-2027 period that its poor environmental, social and governance record could hurt its financing, as its competitors were moving more quickly to clean energy.