A group of permit holders of fuel service stations on 11 highway corridors in Mexico have been affected by the lack of supply of Ultra Low Sulfur (UBA) diesel by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), an institution that has argued a lack of investment and infrastructure to comply with the official standards of the fuel used by transporters.
Permit holders located on highway corridors are affected because currently the invoices issued by Pemex correspond to diesel with up to 500 ppm and not UBA diesel, said Victor Hugo Juárez Cuevas, CEO of Edge Innovation.
The problem lies in the fact that diesel invoices with up to 500 ppm are reported by permit holders as part of the process of compliance with annual obligations before the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), he told Forbes Mexico.
But that could open the door to a refusal to update or modify the permit title under the argument that the fuel that must be supplied in the corridors is UBA diesel, of which they do not receive the necessary supply from Pemex, he added.
The specialist stressed that the extensions for the supply of UBA diesel have placed the permit holders in a difficult situation before the regulator.
Forbes Mexico published that the National Association of Bus, Truck and Tractor Producers (ANPACT) urged Pemex to guarantee the strategic and consistent supply of UBA diesel.
Given the inability of the majority state-owned company to supply UBA diesel to the different metropolitan areas of the country and the 11 highway corridors, biodiesel is positioned as a viable alternative that would benefit not only the transporters, but also the permit holders of service stations, considered Juárez Cuevas.
The Mexican Official Standard (NOM-016-CRE-2016) establishes that Pemex must supply UBA diesel to metropolitan areas and the 11 highway corridors from January 1, 2019. However, the CRE has postponed the transition in the use of the fuel on several occasions.
First it was delayed for a year, then in December 2019 the deadline was extended until December 31 of this year for Pemex to guarantee the supply of UBA diesel. In September 2023, the regulator unanimously approved a resolution to grant a new extension for an indefinite period.
“Biodiesel could be a viable alternative as an additive to diesel, even a substitute for it in the 11 highway corridors, which would not only reduce polluting emissions in metropolitan areas, but would also benefit the permit holders who are affected by the lack of supply of UBA diesel by Pemex,” said the expert.
Juárez Cuevas said that biodiesel would bring benefits to transporters, since current diesel is not the most suitable for new engines of recently manufactured units.
The diesel distributed by Pemex “reduces the useful life and therefore generates high reinvestment costs and emits a greater amount of particulate matter into the atmosphere, increasing levels of poor air quality and generating acid rain, deterioration of the ozone layer and aggravating the effects of global warming,” he says.
As of January 1, 2025, new vehicles with Euro VI / EPA 10 engine technologies can be produced, imported and marketed in Mexico, so ANPACT reiterated its commitment to work with the next administration of Claudia Sheinbaum and various agencies such as Semarnat, SICT, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Economy and Pemex to facilitate this energy transition.
Source: forbes
