Mexico's ethane imports from the US reach record high

Mexico imported a record 21,000b/d of ethane from the US in 2024, as domestic production of this key petrochemical feedstock continued to decline.

According to latest figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Mexico's ethane imports from the US rose by 24% from 17,000b/d in 2023.

Ethane, processed from natural gas, is a critical building block in the petrochemical industry, primarily used to produce ethylene, the main component in polyethylene.

Since the US began exporting low-cost ethane processed from shale gas in 2014, it has become the world's largest exporter of the commodity. According to the EIA, US ethane production grew by 7% in 2024, reaching a record 2.8Mb/d.

Pemex

Ethane production at Mexico's federal oil company Pemex fell from 81,000b/d in January 2020 to 45,100b/d in January 2025.

The decline in Pemex's natural gas production has led the company to inject more gas into its oilfields to boost oil production, rather than processing it into ethane.

Reviving Mexico's petrochemical industry and increasing feedstock supply from Pemex forms part of President Claudia Sheinbaum's Plan México industrial strategy, which aims to substitute imports with local production.

Pemex said in February that it will invest 20bn pesos (US$1bn) by 2030 to revive its petrochemical production.

Outlook

Ethane imports are set to increase further this year when a US$580mn import terminal in the port of Coatzacoalcos begins operations.

The terminal will have capacity of up to 80,000b/d of ethane. It will supply ethane to a polyethylene plant run by Braskem Idesa, a joint venture between Brazilian petrochemicals company Braskem and Mexico's Grupo Idesa.

The plant is Mexico's main consumer of US-sourced ethane. It will allow Braskem to replace ethane from Pemex with imports from the US.