Sheinbaum Taps Pemex CFO to Run Mexico’s Indebted Oil Giant

b2u3s3eqy[vtb4j504st}5ig_media_dl_1.png Pemex 1Q26 Company Presentation

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(Bloomberg) — Petroleos Mexicanos Chief Executive Officer Víctor Rodríguez Padilla is stepping down, handing the reins to a financial expert with close ties to the president as Mexico’s oil company grapples with a heavy debt load.

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Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the change in a video posted on X late Thursday. She said the exit of Rodriguez was planned and the board of the state oil company needed to approve the appointment of Chief Financial Officer Juan Carlos Carpio as the new head of Pemex.

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Rodríguez’s 21-month tenure was marked by challenges as he tried to turn around the deeply indebted oil giant. Production dropped about 6% during the former academic’s time at the helm to 1.65 million barrels a day at the end of March. Its massive debt, meanwhile, has remained high.

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Pemex bonds fell on the news. The company’s 6.75% bonds that mature in 2047 fell 1 cent to 84.2 cents on the dollar Friday, according to Trace bond price data.

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The departure of Rodríguez, a close ally of Sheinbaum, comes two weeks after Pemex posted its third straight quarterly loss as sprawling credit payments have eroded earnings. The company owed $79 billion as of March 31, making it the world’s most indebted oil producer.

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Sheinbaum pumped upward of $40 billion into Pemex during Rodriguez’s tenure to help it cope with debt payments, high payroll costs and struggling refineries. The president also pushed for private investment to revive the nation’s aging oil and gas fields, with the aim of making Pemex self-sufficient by 2027.

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This week, S&P Global Ratings revised the country’s credit outlook to negative from stable, citing persistently weak fiscal results, rising debt levels and weak economic growth. The credit ratings agency also warned that expected continued support for Pemex “would continue to aggravate Mexico’s fiscal rigidities.”

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Carpio’s challenge will now be to continue slashing the company’s debt and lifting oil production. The incoming chief will likely play a central role in the government’s review of a potential fracking plan and ongoing talks with Brazil’s energy company Petrobras over possible partnerships.

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“Naming the CFO as a new CEO is unlikely to give markets any comfort that meaningful changes are afoot,” said John Padilla, director at Paramos Energy.

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Carpio was previously a Mexico City financial official when Sheinbaum was mayor. In that position, he worked for Luz Elena Gonzalez, the nation’s current energy minister. Carpio said in the video posted to X his focus would be “100% on strengthening the company and the country’s energy sovereignty.” Rodríguez will now lead Mexico’s Institute of Electricity and Clean Energy.

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—With assistance from Valentine Hilaire, Joe Ryan and Jose Orozco.

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(Adds bonds in the fourth paragraph.)

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