Its last quarterly profit, a $3.2 billion gain, came a year earlier. The company credited the swing to stronger sales and higher international crude prices, which got a boost from continued friction between the United States and Iran around the Strait of Hormuz.
The profit did not rely on prices alone. Pemex also produced more oil and natural gas, while crude processing rose.
Refineries processed about 1 million barrels of crude a day, with Tula and Dos Bocas leading the way.
The growth starts from a low point. Current crude output is about half of what the company pumped at its high point over 20 years ago.
The profit is a bright spot, but Pemex remains a long way from being able to fund itself, something President Claudia Sheinbaum wants for the company by 2027. Since assuming office, Sheinbaum has directed more than $40 billion to Pemex, helping the firm manage massive debt service, bloated labor costs, and refinery inefficiencies.
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Pemex has cut what it owes by 30% from 2020 levels, leaving financial obligations at their lowest point in more than ten years.
$14 billion has been set aside in the federal budget this year to cover Pemex's debts. Fitch Ratings Inc. nevertheless projects additional assistance will be necessary to close an estimated $10 billion operating gap by the end of the year. Pemex's finance director, meanwhile, said talks are underway with Finance Minister Edgar Amador's office about further aid in Mexico's 2027 budget and a possible debt refinancing.
To change the trajectory, Sheinbaum has urged private firms to team up with Pemex and lift oil production to roughly 1.8 million barrels per day. This year Pemex has inked a number of deals with small domestic producers to increase output from mature fields, yet large global oil companies have shown little appetite to join. Earlier this month, Pemex scrapped a tender covering projects in four of its biggest oil fields.
New CEO Juan Carlos Carpio took over in May after Victor Rodriguez resigned. His priorities are further reducing debt, finalizing joint ventures with partners, and making Pemex's unprofitable refineries work better.
Pemex has also secured deals with Grupo Carso SAB de CV, the company led by Carlos Slim, to develop mature oil and gas fields. It is also looking into teaming up with Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA to search for oil deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico. According to Pemex's exploration and production chief, who spoke Friday, the companies have started exchanging seismic data and are studying potential drilling below the Gulf's pre-salt formations.
Pemex's name keeps taking hits from mishaps and environmental catastrophes. In April, defective equipment was blamed by Pemex for a large crude leak into the Gulf of Mexico. A well blowout in March in Veracruz ignited a blaze that continues to burn even now. Pemex said in its latest earnings release that crews are trying to permanently cap and seal the well.
Even with more crude being processed, Pemex refineries have been hit by several fires and explosions this year, including at Dos Bocas, the company's flagship plant.
This quarter's profit shows that higher oil prices can give Pemex a lift. But years of government support have not meaningfully turned around output.
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