Pemex CEO Rodríguez Steps Down, CFO Carpio Nominated as Successor
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Thursday in a social media video that Víctor Rodríguez Padilla will step down as chief executive of state-owned oil company Pemex after just over a year and a half in the role.
Sheinbaum nominated Juan Carlos Carpio, currently the company’s chief financial officer, to replace Rodríguez. The appointment is subject to approval by Pemex’s board, which is chaired by Mexico’s Energy Ministry.
“I am very happy and grateful to Víctor, and I know Juan Carlos is going to do an excellent job,” Sheinbaum said.
She added that Carpio has also been at Pemex for about the same time and said Rodríguez’s broader management team would remain in place under the incoming CEO.
“I guarantee that our activities will be 100% focused on strengthening the company and consolidating the country’s energy sovereignty,” Carpio said.
In a farewell letter, Rodríguez highlighted achievements including the constitutional reform that transformed Pemex into a public state company with a lighter tax regime, as well as a reduction in the company’s financial debt to its lowest level since 2014, at around $75 billion.
“We also practically resolved payments to suppliers,” he said.
Rodríguez also noted that credit rating agencies had improved Pemex’s outlooks for the first time in 11 years, although S&P Global Ratings this week revised the company’s outlook back to negative.
He pointed to increases in hydrocarbon production and crude processing and said the 340,000 b/d Olmeca Refinery had reached production peaks of 320,000 b/d.
As of the first quarter of 2026, Pemex reported crude production of 1.65 million b/d and refinery processing of 1.14 million b/d.
Rodríguez added that the delayed coker projects at the Tula Refinery and Salina Cruz Refinery were in their final stages.
Despite those achievements, Rodríguez’s tenure was also marked by setbacks, particularly a series of accidents that resulted in fatalities and significant environmental impacts, with the company’s accident rate jumping 39% year over year in the latest quarter.
One of the most serious incidents occurred last month, when Rodríguez acknowledged that a subsea crude leak in Gulf waters that contaminated more than 600 miles of coastline had been concealed from him by company employees.
The leak began in mid-February and released hydrocarbons for at least a week before being contained, while three Pemex officials were removed from their posts.
According to Reuters, Rodríguez had submitted his resignation twice last year, but Sheinbaum persuaded him to remain in the position on both occasions.
Rodríguez will now head the Institute of Electricity and Clean Energies, according to Sheinbaum, while also continuing his work as an academic.
Reporting by José Luis Adriano, jadriano@opisnet.com; Editing by Karla Omaña, komana@opisnet.com and Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com