End Of PEMEX's Downstream Monopoly In Mexico

The monopoly that Petróleos Mexicanos S.A. ("PEMEX") has long enjoyed over gasoline and diesel marketing and sales in Mexico has come to an early end, as Mexico has announced that it is opening the retail fuel market to private participation nine months earlier than originally planned.

Before the reforms to Mexico's oil and gas industry triggered by a constitutional amendment in 2013, state-run PEMEX was the only downstream player in the country. Service stations were operated by PEMEX franchisees, and the price of gasoline was both price-controlled and heavily subsidized by the Mexican government. To the chagrin of the Mexican public, however, fuel prices in Mexico were nonetheless significantly higher than comparable fuel prices in the U.S.