Mexico’s state-owned Pemex represents the biggest concern in terms of liquidity and debt among Latin American oil companies, Fitch Ratings said, despite the billions of dollars it receives in government support.
Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the world’s most indebted state energy company, has $25 billion in short-term debt and $4 billion in bonds that still mature in 2023, Fitch said in a report.
“Pemex raises the biggest maturity and liquidity concern, as most exporters refinance shorter-term debt with maturities between 2024 and 2026, they risk creating significant competition for Pemex,” Fitch said.
Among its competitors in the region, including Argentina’s YPF, Brazil’s Petrobras, and Colombia’s Ecopetrol, Pemex also has the highest total debt/proven reserves ratio, at $14.70 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), Fitch said.
Meanwhile, Pemex’s extraction costs have risen to $26.15 a barrel in 2022 from $19.14 a barrel a year earlier.
In 2020, Pemex became the world’s biggest “fallen angel”: an issuer whose rating was downgraded to junk from investment grade.
In July, Pemex CFO Carlos Cortez told investors that, despite government support, the administration is considering whether to return to the markets this year or next.
