Mexico’s Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) reported a steep rise in the flaring and venting of its natural gas in its first quarter earnings call.

Pemex q1 gas output

Natural gas production was 3.70 Bcf/d in the first quarter of 2021, down slightly compared to the 3.71 Bcf/d reported in 1Q2020. But natural gas flaring shot up to 712 MMcf/d, from 472 MMcf/d in the year-ago period.

The higher rates of flaring are due to processing and other nitrogen elimination infrastructure deficiencies, executives told investors on Friday (April 30). As a result, only 85% of the natural gas Pemex produced made it to market in the first quarter.

The news comes as Mexico continues to require increasing levels of imported natural gas from the United States as the country heads into summer. Imports from the United...