In an economic environment characterised by historically low oil prices, oil and gas companies such as Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) face tremendous challenges in maintaining and improving their productivity. In a sector where 40 cents of every dollar earned is spent on raw materials and services, procurement systems are central to a company’s competitiveness. Alongside strategies to maximise value creation, procurement frameworks are needed to safeguard the company from mismanagement and corruption. Furthermore, fierce competition among international oil companies requires flexible and agile frameworks to unlock the innovation potential of the market and develop sustainable and strategic alliances.

Since the 2013 Energy Reform, which opened up Mexico’s energy sector to private investment, Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) has become a state productive enterprise with the core mission of creating value. This new legislative framework granted PEMEX greater autonomy for its administration, organisation, management and budget, as well as a new corporate structure. At the same time, it changed PEMEX’s organisational structure and resulted in a series of reforms in different fields, including procurement, acquisitions, leasing, services and works, in order to give PEMEX the tools required to compete in international markets. This OECD review identifies the strengths of PEMEX procurement function and the potential options for improvement to achieve its new institutional mission and compete successfully.