Gasoline station owners across Mexico are jointly working on how to best prepare to face the expected new intense competition that will come within two years following the recent approval of the hydrocarbon industry reform.
José Ángel García Elizondo, President of Onexpo Nacional
“Nearly all the Mexican service stations” signed an accord that aims for the unity and transformation of the industry, according to recently made comments by José Ángel García Elizondo, president of the biggest Mexican service station owners guild, known as Onexpo Nacional.
“The accord has the purpose of putting in place a new business model, new work strategies, training and technological development as well as to promote better commercial practices and add transparency to the operation of service stations to strengthen the trust of final consumers,” García Elizondo said, according to comments recently sent to PetrolPlaza by an Onexpo spokesman.
The final objective is “to reach an adequate transition of the gasoline industry to the new conditions imposed by the energy reform”, he added.
The comments come after Mexican legislators recently approved the country´s new hydrocarbon legislation in the biggest change in the Mexican oil industry in decades. Currently, all of the service stations in Mexico operate as franchises of state oil company Pemex, the only fuel producer in the country.
According to the legislation, starting in 2016 the oil company Pemex will lose its current monopoly of franchises. Other companies, including those private and foreign, will be able to start operations. Service stations will operate under different brands.
Imports of fuel like gasoline and diesel will begin a year later and for the following year, in 2018, all fuel prices will move freely depending just on free market conditions.
The Mexican service station owners signed the accord following the recent approval of a new hydrocarbon law which had been promoted by the country president Enrique Peña Nieto for the past two years and which was finally approved a few weeks ago by Mexican legislators.
Onexpo has also separately signed an accord with Pemex to help all current Pemex franchises get ready to face the competition expected to arrive, the group said.
“We find ourselves in this stage of a new opening. We face a new paradigm about how to do business that comes along not just with opportunities but also with complex challenges that we must overcome,” García Elizondo said, according to the comments sent to PetrolPlaza by Onexpo.
An Onexpo spokesman said by email that by next year there should be a clearer picture of potential consequences of the opening of the industry.
The comments were made at the end of October, at a time when regulations related to the law were still being worked on.
Source: PetrolPlaza
