Pemex

Pemex

Pemex is an oil company owned by the Mexican state. It is the 10th largest oil company in the world in terms of revenue and it is ranked 42nd on the list of Fortune 500 companies. PEMEX is the sole supplier of all commercial gasoline stations in Mexico and it is the fifth largest oil exporter in the world.

Company History

In 1938, citing the 27th article of the Mexican Constitution, president Lázaro Cárdenas embarked on the state expropriation of all resources and facilities, nationalizing all the operating companies and creating PEMEX. Since then, PEMEX is the only company with oil extraction facilities in Mexico.

Political and Public Influence

As PEMEX is a company owned by the Mexican government, it hasn’t supported any public or political campaign directly.

Corporate Accountability

PEMEX gas stations are not owned by the government, but by private companies or individuals. PEMEX sells concessions, which are, of course, supplied by PEMEX but not owned by PEMEX. A large number of complains have been presented specifically related to fraud in these activities. Many clients have been victims of “baptized” gasoline, which consists of ¾ liters of gasoline mixed with ¼ liters of water.

Labor

November 26, 2008: “Despiden a trabajadores por intentar agruparse”

Claims have been made that Pemex was firing workers unjustifiably. According to the report more than 500 workers of the company were fired for trying to form the trade union “Unión Nacional de técnicos y profesionalistas petroleros”. “Yesterday the manager of human resources, Salavador Mellado Cantú, entered my office in a violent way, asked me for my name and told me that by order of his superiors I was fired and had to leave my office and the complex right away” denounces Didier Marquina Cárdenas, who also said that the only explanation they gave to him was that his firing would be better for the company’s interests.

October 3, 2008: “Explotación y acoso laboral en plataformas petroleras”

This article, published by the reporter Ana Lilia Perez, claims that although a year ago a serious accident occurred (a disaster on the Ususumacinta platform), where more than 20 workers died, the company has not take any measures in order to improve its security systems. The article also points out that the company threatens to dismiss workers if they don´t do what the company wants them to do without complaints or if they attempt to join a trade union or any kind of institution that tries to work and protest for their rights. Finally, the article also asserts that if a worker gets sick he is likely to lose his job. In this way, workers are blackmailed and forced to tolerate all kinds of abuses and humiliations.

January 7, 2008: “Dejan accidentes en Pemex 157 muertos en últimos tres años”

This article, published by the “Editorial Mexican Organization”, reports that in the last 3 years more than 157 workers died in accidents in the Pemex complex. The article insists on the necessity of having more security guarantees for the 13,500 workers the company has in its more than 100 maritime platforms.

November 3, 2007: “Violan la ley empresas subcontratistas que reclutan a trabajadores petroleros”

This article not also denounces the precarious security conditions in which the workers are forced to operate but also points out that the Labor Secretary of Mexico, who should watch over any anomaly on these platforms, has not taken appropriate measures to make sure that security guarantees are offered by the company. It also asserts that only one third of the employees of the company are part of a union trade organization.

15 April, 2005: “Three Workers Missing After Mexico Ammonia Spill”

This article, published on the “Planet Ark” webpage, claims that 3 of the 5 workers hired by state oil monopoly Pemex to repair a pipeline went missing. In addition to this, and because of a gigantic ammonia spill, around 6,000 people living nearby had to be evacuated. The article also reports that Pemex needed 9 billion dollars over three years to repair 22,961 miles of its pipelines.

Human Rights

13 October 2006: “Denuncian Pescadores de Campaeche a Pemex Ante Derechos Humanos (México)”

This article, published by the “Diario de Mexico”, announces that at least 26 fisherman’s trade unions and civil cooperatives were going to denounce Pemex due to its constant violations of their human rights, exclusion, and violent moves.

Environment

Although the company assures it is making significant efforts to improve the environmental situation, its emissions of carbon dioxide grew by 9% in 2007.

August 4, 2007: “Investigarán violaciones ecológicas de Pemex”

This article, published by “El Diario¨ in Mexico, announces that the “Comisión para la cooperación ambiental” (Environmental Cooperation Commission) was going to investigate the supposed violations against the environment of which Pemex had been accused. The author asserts that the intervention of this institution is a result of the negligence and inefficiency of the Mexican government.

October 8, 2006: “Pemex miente"

This article seeks to contradict a declaration that Pemex made a few days before, in which the company denied the multiple accusations that several institutions made against it related to the damaging health effects that oil spills could have produced for people. In an interview, Hilda Rodrigiez Miranda, regional coordinator of “Vigilancia Epidemiológica de Daños Tóxicos” (Epidemiological Vigilance over Toxic Harm) assures that several clinical studies very clearly prove the negative health effects that the oil spills have produced. According to the article, the “Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social” (Mexican Social Security Institute) published a study which detected more than 360 cases of individuals who were sick due to the spills.

March 3, 2005: “Pemex ha recibido 496 multas por incumplir la normativa medioambiental en la presente administración”

The article affirms that more than 496 fines were imposed on Pemex in 2004 for failing to comply with environmental regulations. Between January and February 2005, 17 similar fines were imposed on Pemex. This sum comes to more than 130,000 Euros. The article affirms that, according to a report published by the “Secretaría de medio ambiente y recursos naturales” (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), Pemex has spilled more than 8 million liters of oil in the state of Veracruz.

February 3, 2005: “Mexican Green Groups go after Pemex for Oil spills”

The article reports that Greenpeace and the Mexican Centre for Environmental law (Cemda) lodged a formal complaint with the Mexican attorney general over a December oil spill that oozed down the Coatzacoalcos river in Veracruz state.

Anti-Trust and Tax Practices

In 2007, 60% of the total income of the company went to pay taxes and rights.

Social Responsibility Initiatives

In terms of social projects and efforts, PEMEX has donated assistance and money to the oil towns and regions in which it operates. On the one hand, this is meant to facilitate oil production, and on the other hand it is intended to downplay the negative effects of oil production.

In addition, since 2004 PEMEX has published a complete annual report about sustainable development (on economic, social and environmental topics). This report has always been supervised by external auditors (Ernst and Young, PriceWaterHouse, KPMG). In 2007, the report received the highest recognition (A+, GRI Checked), defined in the scale of the Global Reporting Initiative. In addition to this, PEMEX formalized a stakeholders group where all the sectors interested in the sustainable development of PEMEX could take a seat and formulate recommendations for the company.

Business Scope

Financial Information

The financial information is available on the webpage of the company (www. pemex.com)

Governance

Executives Board members/affiliations Executive director/compensation Date and venue of next AGM

Contact Information

A message can be send on the webpage of the company (www.pemex.com)

Articles and Resources

External Articles

http://www.usaee.org/pdf/Nov06.pdf#19d

http://www.pemex.com/index.cfm

http://www.hidrosur.com.mx/16-1-Hoja+de+Seguridad+de+los+productos.html

http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/41/41359.html

http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=mx&product=oil&graph=production

http://www.business-humanrights.org/Search/SearchResults?SearchableText=pemex&x=0&y=0&&&&&&&batch_start=31

http://www.awid.org/eng/Issues-and-Analysis/Library/States-and-Corporations-Legal-Responsibilities-to-the-People

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2006/02/24/mexican-industry-takes-voluntary-action-against-climate-change

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