Updates with terminal operator statement on permits, product ownership and documentation provided to authorities.
Mexican authorities seized around 371,000 bl of gasoline and diesel at a major rail-linked storage terminal in Mexico's Bajio region, while its operator said it has provided documents supporting the legality of its operations and commercial relationships with customers.
Federal prosecutor FGR secured the fuel because it said ownership, origin and traceability have not yet been established, and it is investigating possible tax violations.
The products comprised about 210,700 bl of regular gasoline, 45,700 bl of premium gasoline and 114,900 bl of diesel, according to federal prosecutor FGR. Authorities also impounded seven tank trucks and secured 10 storage tanks, accounting records and invoices.
Gas Natural del Noroeste, the Grupo Simsa affiliate that holds the terminal's storage permit, said the facility operates with the required federal, state and municipal authorizations, including environmental, industrial safety and railway permits.
The company said it provides third-party storage services and that the fuels held at the terminal belong to its customers. Those companies are responsible for demonstrating the ownership, lawful origin and quality of their products to Mexican energy authorities, it said.
Gas Natural del Noroeste said it has provided authorities with documentation supporting its operations and relationships with terminal users. It expects the review to confirm that both the facility and its customers' products comply with applicable regulations.
ExxonMobil, Marathon and Shell are the users of the terminal, according to market sources.
The terminal has 1.05mn bl of nominal storage capacity, according to the latest publicly available data from the energy ministry Sener, meaning the seized volume was equivalent to around 35pc of its nominal capacity.
Located at San Jose Iturbide in northeastern Guanajuato, near the border with Queretaro state, the terminal serves the Bajio and other central Mexican markets. It receives fuel primarily by rail and dispatches products by truck.
The terminal was formally inaugurated in December 2017 as ExxonMobil began selling imported fuel in Mexico. Products from ExxonMobil's Texas refineries were transported through the US and Mexico by Kansas City Southern de Mexico, whose network is now operated by CPKC de Mexico, before being distributed to ExxonMobil retail stations in Queretaro and elsewhere in the Bajio.
In previous years, state-owned Pemex also stored fuels at the terminal, according to market sources. The terminal also played an important supply role during the fuel shortages of early 2019.
The investigation began on 3 July after authorities detained an individual allegedly unloading fuel from a 33,000-liter tank truck at a retail station in San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato. The individual was unable to document the fuel's origin or traceability, prompting searches at the station, an LPG facility in Dolores Hidalgo and finally the San Jose Iturbide terminal.
The FGR is investigating possible violations of Mexico's hydrocarbons law and federal tax code. It said the ownership, origin and traceability of the products remain undetermined.
Energy consultant Gonzalo Monroy questioned whether the seizure reflected illicit activity.
Monroy told Argus that FGR agents and tax authority SAT officials have conducted similar operations at two other terminals after identifying what they described as documentation discrepancies. Storage terminals are not necessarily the importers of record and therefore may not hold the import permits or customs declarations for their customers' products, which instead remain with the importers or offtakers, Monroy said. Inspectors may consequently have demanded documents from the terminal that should be held by its customers, according to Monroy.
By Cas Biekmann and Antonio Gozain
