“Tuxpan is on hold until the new administration comes on board and give us the green light to proceed,” Guillermo Turrent, general director with CFEnergia, CFE’s fuel marketing subsidiary, said in an email statement.

Tuxpan is CFE’s largest terminal in the country, representing a fifth of the company’s total fuel oil storage capacity. The new reconfigured terminal could store motor fuel or crude oil.

This is not the only state-led energy project waiting for the approval of the incoming administration of President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Mexico’s independent gas system operator Cenagas is looking for the support of the new administration before tendering the country’s first underground strategic storage project.

Tuxpan is one of the most after sought ports in Mexico for the development of new marine fuel terminals. The auction for the Tuxpan project was initially expected to be launched by the end of the summer. Currently, five new terminals are being developed in Tuxpan including one from major Swiss-trader Glencore.

Tuxpan is the closest port to Mexico’s central region, the country’s largest fuel market with a gasoline demand in June of 234,200 b/d of gasoline and 88,800 b/d of diesel, data from Mexico’s Energy Secretariat (SENER) shows.

Also, this port is the main point of entry for gasoline imports into Mexico. Tuxpan received over 200,000 b/d of gasoline in June, according to SENER. Lack of access to import infrastructure has prevented new fuel wholesalers in Mexico from importing refined products into the country.

Despite the fact that SENER began allowing private companies to import fuel into Mexico in 2016, Pemex still controlled 96.7% of all gasoline imports in June, data from the secretariat shows. Despite this, CFEnergia previously told Platts that the facility could also be used to store and blend crude oil for the domestic and international markets.

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