Mexico Has Not Sanctioned Suppliers Unable to Comply with Inventory Policy – OPIS

Nearly three months after being enacted, Mexico has not sanctioned any fuel supplier unable to fulfill obligations under the country’s Public Policy on Minimum Fuel Inventories (PPMFI), sources told OPIS.

Starting on July 1, the policy requires marketers and distributors to stock five days of sales to end-users. Companies without storage capacity can fulfill the policy via tickets, a financial rights tool that grants them ownership of another marketer’s inventories. Considering Mexico’s storage capacity shortages and that most of the existing terminals are under Pemex’s control, it is unlikely the whole market will comply with the policy, analysts and suppliers have told OPIS. CRE did not respond to comment requests from OPIS about the issue. A fuel marketer told OPIS it has not been able to comply with the PPMFI fully. Still, it has not been notified or sanctioned by Mexico’s Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) to date.

“We have the sense the regulator isn’t following with the implementation of the policy,” the source added. The marketer said it had reported monthly the fuel stocks it holds via inventory tickets, although they are not enough to comply with the policy fully. “CRE hasn’t given any clear messages or directions regarding the enforcement of the policy,” the source added. The marketer said complying with the policy has resulted in higher fuel costs to its end customers. “It is frustrating to think some of our competitors might be offering lower prices because they aren’t complying with the inventory policy,” the source added. In July, OPIS had previously reported that complying with the policy could result in fuel prices increasing by 0.2 pesos per liter, a figure marketers agreed with. Legal firms Ursus Energy and Lexoil told OPIS none of their marketing and fuel distribution clients had been sanctioned for unfulfilling the PPMFI.

The CRE did not respond to requests for comment from OPIS. Marcial Diaz, Lexoil directing partner, said the regulator had not mapped the steps to take to fulfill the policy or were unwilling to enforce it. Diaz suspects that one of the reasons why the policy has not been implemented could be that Pemex has not signed ticket contracts with all its clients. “About 90% of the marketers and distributors acquire fuel from Pemex,” Diaz said.

In July, Pemex sent Letters of Mutual Intent to all its clients confirming it has enough storage capacity for them to comply with the PPMFI, adding it would sign ticket contracts within 90 days. This 90-day period ends on Sept. 30, and Lexoil has not confirmed Pemex had signed any contracts to date, Diaz said.

Pemex niega haber buscado amparo contra política de almacenamiento – Forbes

Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) negó haber solicitado un amparo en contra de la política de almacenamiento de combustibles, vigente desde el 1 de julio de 2020. “Pemex TRI aclara que no ha interpuesto ninguna acción legal en contra de dicha política”, publicó la subsidiaria en un comunicado para sus clientes comerciales, visto por Forbes México. En el documento, la empresa energética aseguró que cuenta con inventarios disponibles para cumplir con la política pública de almacenamiento mínimo de petrolíferos, emitida por la Secretaría de Energía (Sener).

“Nunca hubo un amparo”, coincidió una fuente con conocimiento del tema. La solicitud de amparo presentada el pasado 8 de julio pretendía evitar la obligación de informar sus inventarios mínimos de combustible, particularmente los numerales 5.3.3 y 5.3.9 referentes al cálculo promedio de las ventas y la notificación a la Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE) sobre la comercialización de combustibles. Pero, el pasado 21 de julio, el juzgado primero en materia administrativa especializado en competencia económica actualizó el expediente 306/2020, inicialmente con Pemex TRI como empresa quejosa y lo sustituyó con la compañía Comylub Mexicana, dedicada a la fabricación y distribución de lubricantes industriales.

“Téngase por recibido el oficio de la empresa productiva del Estado…como lo solicita… se REGULARIZA el procedimiento en que se actúa, para el único efecto de aclarar el nombre de la quejosa en la lista de publicación de ocho de julio del año en curso”, explica la síntesis del expediente. El abogado y director de la firma Lexoil consultores, Marcial Díaz Ibarra, interpretó que el secretario del Juzgado acordó mal el expediente, con base en los documentos públicos existentes.

“Todo indica que la otra empresa es la que presentó la demanda de amparo y puso a Pemex como tercero perjudicado”, comentó. Publicada desde el 6 de diciembre de 2019, la Política Pública de Almacenamiento Mínimo de Petrolíferos obliga a comercializadores y distribuidores de gasolina y turbosina a contar con al menos cinco días de venta. En el caso del diésel la obligación se reduce a tres días.

Lee el artículo completo aquí

Market to Set Mexico’s Inventory Ticket Prices, Terms: CRE’s Rule Draft – OPIS

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) is gearing toward the release of guidelines for the emission of financial-rights tickets for the fulfillment of the country’s Public Policy on Minimum Fuel Inventories (PPMFI).

OPIS had access to the ticket emission guidelines expected to be released by CRE in the coming days, according to a source close to the situation. Tickets will be emitted only by fuel marketers with excess inventories at a price set freely by the market. Storage facility operators won’t be able to sell tickets. “The conditions of costs, contracting and in general, conditions of commercial strategy, will be subject to free negotiation between the parties,” CRE states in the guideline draft. Companies unable to fulfill the policy could get their marketing permits revoked as the maximum penalty after multiple warnings, according to commentaries shared by Mexico City-based consultancy energy firm Lexoil of the CRE-drafted guidelines. However, any terms set by counterparties must follow the norms established in free economic competition and guidelines for the emission and purchase of tickets, CRE adds.

The PPFMI enforcement starts July 1, requiring fuel marketers to hold strategic reserves of five days of gasoline and diesel sales between November 2019 and May 2020 and three days of jet fuel inventories split between airports and storage facilities. To provide operative flexibility and guarantee the market liquidity to fulfill the PPMFI, the policy allows the emission and purchase of tickets to acquire the financial rights over inventories held by third parties, the draft states. Under the financial rights obligations, the inventory holder is obligated to sell the stock to the ticket owner in case of fuel supply disruptions or product shortages, the guidelines indicate. Ticket buyers and sellers must register their transactions via an online portal set by CRE within 30 days of the purchase, including the buyer, seller, price, inventory region and product breakdown. CRE’s online platform will automatically verify the balance of each marketer and distributor to ensure it doesn’t exceed its existing inventories, the guideline draft shows. Companies with offtake contracts on facilities still under development will be required to hold tickets until their facilities startup, CRE indicated.

Operative volumes from transload activities will not count as strategic inventories, CRE said. Therefore, the use of car trains or vessels as storage of strategic lists isn’t allowed. If scheduled maintenance decreases the capacity for a facility to store fuel, marketers are obligated to acquire tickets for another facility until the work concludes. Also, ticket sellers must ensure the product stored to fulfill the specification norms set by CRE. Based on the guidelines, ticket buyers should try to hold half of their inventories on the last-mile terminal they typically use to supply their end-users. If this isn’t possible, companies can use storage facilities or hold tickers for stocks in any part of Mexico. Regarding sanctions, CRE will give a five-day notice for companies to respond regarding any suspected or confirmed irregularities. If the company with its first response doesn’t solve the matter, it will have three days to correct any problems. If not, CRE will impose a sanction. Inventories held by companies can be released only after the declaration of an expected emergency by Mexico’s Government Coordinating Council for the Energy Sector.

Market participants have to notify the release of inventories to CRE as well as the time frame to replenish stocks. In the case of an emergency, market participants can use inventories set apart under the PPMFI. However, companies must justify the crisis to CRE within two working days after the event. The commission can evaluate the ticket market at any time and introduce new regulations to ensure a reliable, stable, and secure supply.