At a time when countries are redrawing trade strategies to Trump-proof their exports, Mexican state company Pemex has begun talks with potential buyers in Asia, including China, and Europe in search of alternative markets for its crude, Reuters reported quoting an unnamed source in the Mexican government.
Last year, Pemex exported 806,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude, of which 57 per cent went to the US. In January, exports came down 44 per cent year-on-year to 532,404 bpd, the lowest level in decades.
Mexico does send some crude to Europe and Asia - in particular to India and South Korea, according to Kpler.
“The good thing is that there’s an appetite for Mexican crude in Europe, in India, in Asia,” Reuters quoted the source. “There’s demand for heavy crude and Pemex crude,” the source added.
Two sources at PMI Comercio Internacional, Pemex’s trading arm, confirmed to Reuters that China, India, South Korea and even Japan would be suitable markets for what Pemex produces in the face of tariffs, despite higher shipping costs.
Russian crude bill
India spent 112.5 billion euro (about ₹1.5 lakh crore) on buying crude oil from Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, a European think tank said on Thursday.
India, according to CREA, bought fossil fuels worth euro 205.84 billion from Russia from the beginning of the war until March 2, 2025.
This comprised 112.5 billion euro ($121.59 billion) for purchase of crude oil, which is refined into fuels like petrol and diesel at refineries, and EUR 13.25 billion for coal.
