Pemex promises to close the gas flaring in the Ixachi field in January 2023

Pemex plans to “close” the flaring of natural gas in mid-January in one of its strategic fields under development and for which it has received fines for infractions committed that have resulted in environmental damage, the general director of the state oil company estimated this Friday.

Ixachi, in the state of Veracruz, is one of Pemex’s bets in the president’s government Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorbut violations of its development plan that have led to excessive gas flaring caused the oil regulator, the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH), will fine the oil company around two million dollars, revealed Reuters in August.

The director of Pemex, Octavio Romerosaid that by mid-December it will be able to process half of the planned gas capacity at the Ixachi facilities and by mid-January it will have full capacity.

“Here 300 million cubic feet of gas are going to be received, they are going to be separated from the condensates, they are going to be sweetened (…) they are going to remove the LP gas, the condensates, and it will help us a lot because It will prevent us from flaring gas in the future,” said the official in a video on Pemex’s Twitter account.

In addition to Ixachi, Pemex has also been fined for failing to meet gas flaring targets in another priority field, Quesqui, in Tabasco.

The two most recent fines could each reach 120 million Mexican pesos ($6.2 million), Reuters revealed this week, in what would be the highest fines ever imposed by the CNH. However, all would have been appealed, according to sources from the regulator.

The high and increasing levels of gas flaring in the country have been a topic that López Obrador has discussed with the United States Envoy for Climate, John Kerry. The president has vowed to curb the practice, which releases greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

Pemex recently said it would work with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet ambitious international commitments.