Oro Negro, Pemex tiff rages

Pemex service provider Oro Negro took out a page in local papers claiming it was a victim of persecution by tax authorities in reprisal for the company's accusations of corruption within the Mexican NOC.

Oro Negro's troubles stem from five contracts for the lease of offshore platforms that were cancelled by Pemex in 2016, causing the company to declare bankruptcy and fire 350 workers.

According to the ad that was signed by Gonzalo Gil White, son of powerful former finance minister Francisco Gil and CEO of Oro Negro, the company was targeted for not being willing to participate in corrupt practices at Pemex. The company's management includes several well-connected executives, such as former head of Pemex exploration and production Luis Ramírez Corso and José Antonio Cañedo White, former chairman of the board of Televicentro, the holding company controlling Mexico's largest media company Televisa.

Oro Negro claims to have recordings implicating high-ranking Pemex officials in acts of corruption involving other suppliers.

According to daily El Economista, Oro Negro started up in 2012 with an injection of US$200mn from investment fund Axis. Three years later its contracts with Pemex were worth US$1.5bn. Like many suppliers to Pemex, Oro Negro was hard hit when low oil prices and changing fiscal priorities caused a sharp drop in Pemex spending and the contracts were cancelled.

Meanwhile, Pemex has denied the charges and a former attorney general, Gabriel Reyes, told Aristegui Noticias that Oro Negro had inside information from the former Pemex executives on its payroll, allowing it to increase its value rapidly. He added that if the company had recordings, its legal responsibility was to hand them over to the authorities.

The company is currently seeking US$1bn in damages from Pemex.