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I am not a v critic but just an observer.
Residing in the Rosarito area noticed the name changing of Pemex stations.
Not sure if it is a business ploy or change in ownership...underground tanks have to be filled by some source.
Saw in TJ the Arco brand along with another US brand name.
On a sad note the gas is going at the $4 mark for a gal. I recently paid $15 for just over 3 gals.
How are the avg person with the low wages able to get around when the need for an auto is so criticle.
The recent gas theft and fire explosion would not have happened if the gas we're sold at a lower price in line with the labor mkt lower wage skills.
PEMEX after all. Is Govmt owned and regulates their pricing.
I am not a v critic but just an observer.
Residing in the Rosarito area noticed the name changing of Pemex stations.
Not sure if it is a business ploy or change in ownership...underground tanks have to be filled by some source.
Saw in TJ the Arco brand along with another US brand name.
On a sad note the gas is going at the $4 mark for a gal. I recently paid $15 for just over 3 gals.
How are the avg person with the low wages able to get around when the need for an auto is so criticle.
The recent gas theft and fire explosion would not have happened if the gas we're sold at a lower price in line with the labor mkt lower wage skills.
PEMEX after all. Is Govmt owned and regulates their pricing.
Wow $4 mark for a gal! Interesting as last time I went to Rosarito last October and passed some gas stations, many private brands that sprouted out since deregulation in 2017(The move caused widespread riots as government subsidies disappeared overnight and Pemex prices across Mexico reached parody with California, which has the highest prices in the US). It was about 18-20 pesos a liter for regular or about $3.60US a gallon based on exchange rates. It was around $3.80 a gallon in San Diego County at that time. Global gasoline prices has plummeted since November. Though its very expensive considering the wages of Mexicans and how back during the subsidy days it was up to $1-$2 cheaper south of the border when global oil prices skyrocket and many people with pickup trucks and Vans cross south and hoard fuel. Arizona New Mexico and Texas prices often average $0.70 cheaper than California. Therefore the difference wasn't great in the past across the border. But now the difference is smaller between with California but big with the former three states. Gas stations along the border there must be taking in profits from Mexico deregulation.
Though I heard the person with me who travels to Mexico more often that Mexicans often do price gauge anyone that appears like a gringo particularity ones who pay with US dollars. Particularly the independently owned stations. He has experience that the gas station owner will charge $4 a gallon for the privilege of accepting your dollars rather than the exchange rate of the posted rate on the gas station.
Interesting I heard most gasoline were refined in the US and imported to Mexico. Therefore the low prices in the past were entirely due to subsidies and does not reflect the true market price of gasoline in Mexico.
I actually had another tread about gasoline in Mexico and its source as well as the causes and impact of the deregulation movement in 2017.
Last edited by citizensadvocate; 01-20-2019 at 09:02 PM..
I remember covering the oil industry for an investment firm 20 years ago and everyone I talked to knew this was coming. A veteran of the industry said Pemex was like if Coca Cola was run by people who made sure their kids and friends got jobs, but forgot to teach all of them the secret formula to Coke. Give it enough time and there will be no one left who knows what they are doing.
Pemex would try to overcome it by hiring foreigners as consultants, but the union and their internal supporters would pull comic crap to sabotage them. I heard a story back then from a long-time vet of the industry that was just ridiculous but I have no reason to think it isn't true. A consultant he knew from Venezuela went into the Veracruz office and brought with him a few pens to use. Guy gets up to meet people in the office and someone steals his pens while he's away from the desk. He asks what happened to his pens and everyone claims not to know. He asks nicely for some pens to use and the office manager says sorry but their government rules say he has to put in a request for it. And he has to sign the request, which he can't do because no one will loan him a pen. He goes outside for lunch and there is a guy a block away selling pens and pencils and some candy, but the union has apparently paid this guy to play along and says to the consultant he can only sell him pencils because he doesn't recognize him. Can't sign a request with pencils! Guy couldn't write anything down for a day and everyone acted like it was just normal. He goes back to his hotel and asks a taxi to take him to a store and buys a box of pens. Takes them in the next day and lays 5 on his desk and announces he's ready to work. Office manager tells him those are unapproved pens with a straight face. Not like it matters she's not going to pry them from him and he writes down his notes and plans as the day goes on. End of the day and he's about to leave and a security guard comes over and politely explains to him because of secrecy rules they have to hold his papers from the day in the building. He agrees to this and wouldn't you know it, the next morning his papers have disappeared and no one knows how this could have happened. Guy lasted one week and told them sorry he couldn't help them under these working conditions. As he leaves the office manager who made his life miserable says not staying for the entirety of his contract is a serious breach and they would file a claim against him for more than triple what he should have made that week. He ignored it thinking its just nonsense, but it was real and he didn't get paid for his week. He skipped out on his hotel bill, took a bus to Mexico City and flew out vowing never to come back. He got three letters later claiming he owed money to Pemex and just ignored them. He figures as long as he stays out of Mexico he'll be fine, but that's Pemex for you. Is it any wonder millions a day in fuel disappear and the company has no ability to refine gasoline anymore?
I am not a v critic but just an observer.
Residing in the Rosarito area noticed the name changing of Pemex stations.
Not sure if it is a business ploy or change in ownership...underground tanks have to be filled by some source.
Saw in TJ the Arco brand along with another US brand name.
The owners are the same groups but now they sell gasoline under the concept of franchising with other brands.
For example, Orsan previously sold Pemex gasoline and now sells Mobil, so all its service stations are now Mobil and import their gasoline from Texas.
I also believe that if gasoline had not increased so much, the problem of fuel theft would not have been so widespread.
But what is done is done, and is better for the country that gasoline is sold without subsidies and we have more competition.
The PEMEX station monopoly was ended as part of a greater oil industry reform a few years ago. This reform is due to consumption of oil in Mexico catching up to the declining production. I've heard that they are almost a net importer now. Thus, Mexico can no longer afford to subsidize gas with oil exports so this was partially self made as subsidies enabled higher consumption. The other side of the coin is that PEMEX was giving away its profits in form of the subsides (and contributions to the federal govt) which resulted in less investment in its own production and refineries. Without opening the oil sector up to foreign competition the results would be even less production in the future, and less taxes to the government. Its as simple as that.
I was in Nogales, AZ a couple of days ago, one of the busiest border crossing towns in AZ. I stopped for a coffee at the Pilot truck stop on the north side of town. It is always busy there, but this time there was a huge line of cars to buy gas. I was a bit surprised, because it was a weekday, in the middle of the day. I noticed the majority of cars in line had Sonora license plates. Gas prices here in southern AZ are much cheaper than in MX right now. In Tucson, I filled up for $2.12 per gallon at Circle K. Nogales, AZ is about $2.50 per gallon, still much less than in northern Sonora. I would guess that all the gas stations in Nogales, AZ are selling a lot more gas than they normally would due to the big difference with prices in Sonora.
It’s a whole different world after the subsidies ended. Reverse of what happened in the past. When I remembered many big pickups, work trucks, and large vans would hoard gasoline from Mexico now it’s the opposite way around.
Though we find out the truth that the low prices in the past were all artificial in the past, and it’s not just for gasoline.
The supplies actually came from US that’s why without subsidizes the market rates would naturally be higher since they would need to cross the border.
Arizona is normally much cheaper than California. Therefore when prices down south approached California levels, they are far above Arizona and Texas which are also over the border.
Interesting I was just in TJ yesterday and prices are pretty much the same as on this list and under similar exchange rates.
Prices in different stations for regular varies from 17.30(0.90 USD)- 18.5(0.96USD) pesos a liter. or around $3.40-$3.62 a gallon.
Interestingly there isn't such wide variety of station prices in Baja California as in San Diego county or SoCal in general where the cheapest stations often Costco sell for $2.86 or the equivalent of 14 pesos a litter but the most expensive stations may approach $4 or more a gallon. 76 pesos a gallon or over 20 pesos a litter. So the prices in Tijuana tend to be right between the lowest and the highest prices in San Diego county and from what I seen there isn't that much difference between stations as in San Diego County.
Though prices in California are very unstable and very by the station and by the day.
I am surprised that the prices back in November at the same stations in TJ was not much higher than it is today. Even though San Diego's prices were much higher than today at around $3.70 a gallon average as international oil market prices were still pretty high but dropped drastically in the month of December thus leading to plummeting pump prices in SD and SoCal.
I am also curious are the Chevrons and Shell in Baja selling California blend gasoline nowadays? As I heard most refined gasoline are imported from north of the border.
The north west of Mexico does import gasoline from California refineries. They use the PEMEX terminal in Rosarito. I have no idea if they use the same blend.
The north west of Mexico does import gasoline from California refineries. They use the PEMEX terminal in Rosarito. I have no idea if they use the same blend.
I guess if its from California refineries its definitely the same gasoline as sold in California. As California refineries are required to refine gasoline that meets the California's clean air act. Therefore deregulation and loss of the subsidies that kept rates artificially low in the past, would mean that prices would remain more or less similar with California in addition to the cost of transporting it south across the border and quite a bit higher than Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas no matter how much competition it spawns.
Here is what I seen on the Baja bound website:
May 11th, 2018
$3.66 - Average California gas price
$2.91 - Average Arizona gas price
Pemex prices in Tijuana:
$17.94 pesos a liter for Magna (green)
$19.62 pesos a liter for Premium (red)
Peso/Dollar: $19.41 pesos/$1 U.S. dollar
(Average price seen around Tijuana at gas stations and exchange houses - casas de cambio.)
U.S. Dollar Conversion
$3.50 a gallon Magna (green) - ($17.94 pesos x 3.785) / $19.41 pesos
$3.83 a gallon Premium (red) - ($19.62 pesos x 3.785) / $19.41 pesos
Canadian exchange rate is very similar to the U.S. dollar exchange rate, so prices will be very close to the above posted prices.
For an average SUV with a 22 gallon tank, we find...
U.S. price: $80.52 dollars (using the California average of $3.66)
Pemex price: $77 dollars filling up with Magna (green)
TOTAL SAVINGS: $3.52 U.S. dollars
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