Mexico City, Feb 22 (EFE).- Mexico needs to build just two refineries - one that is already under construction in the central city of Tula and an additional one - to become self-sufficient in gasoline production, the Center for Private Sector Economic Research, or CEESP, said in a report.
The study was prepared in response to leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, presidential candidate Andres Manual Lopez Obrador's proposal to build four refineries to end Mexico's dependence on gasoline imports, CEESP, a unit of the Business Coordinating Council, or CCE, said.
Gasoline imports covered 47.8 percent of domestic consumption last year, up from the 40.7 percent level registered during the economic crisis in 2009, the CEESP report said.
Mexico's refining system operated at just 75.7 percent of capacity in 2011, CEESP said, adding that officials should aim for 95 percent or 100 percent capacity utilization before building new refineries.
"Getting the 6 existing refineries to achieve 95 percent or 100 percent of their installed capacity should be the short-term goal to achieve before thinking about a new facility at an elevated cost," the CEESP report said.
Gasoline production is a low-return business since "the profit margin is less than 12 percent of the final price," CEESP said.
Oil exploration and production cost state-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, between $4 and $8 per barrel, with the sales price averaging $70 per barrel, producing a profit margin of 700 percent, CEESP said.
