The country's anti-theft measures and increased domestic output reduced Mexico's need for US imports last year
Diesel exports to Mexico from the US Gulf coast fell last year, but truck and rail shipments are on the rise.
Gulf coast distillate exports to Mexico amounted to 233,000 b/d last year, 6pc lower than a year earlier, according to data from the US EIA. Waterborne deliveries were 140,000 b/d last year, compared with 196,000 b/d in 2018, oil analytics firm Vortexa estimates. Higher diesel production at state-owned Pemex's refineries pared back some import demand, while the Mexican government's anti-theft measures helped boost stocks and reduce black market activity.
Overland exports from the Gulf coast by truck and rail nearly doubled to 93,000 b/d last year, or 40pc of total exports, compared with 21pc a year earlier, the data indicate. The shift in transport modes reflects a rising market share for independent companies, which tend to use truck and rail. Non-Pemex imports accounted for close to a third of the diesel entering the country from all destinations last year, up from less than a quarter in 2018, energy ministry data show.
Truck and rail transport carry much smaller amounts than typical mid-range vessels that hold 300,000 bl, and this translates into fewer risks for importers. And overland transport is insulated from weather-related port closures and freight rate volatility. In contrast to the Gulf coast, distillate exports to Mexico from the US west coast rose to 52,600 b/d last year, up from 41,000 b/d in 2018, with waterborne exports accounting for the vast majority.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has pledged to reduce Mexico's energy dependence on oil products imports, which supply about 70pc of the country's gasoline and diesel, by reinvigorating the domestic refinery sector.
