MEXICO CITY (Reuters – Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex suffered a loss of $6.05 Billion in the fourth quarter. It was down from a profit of $1.3 billion a year earlier, mainly due to currency losses and a more expensive tax bill.

Pemex reported a profit close to $5 million for the past year.

In the three most recent months of 2021 the revenue for the state-owned firm grew by nearly 80%, due to an increase in both domestic and export sales.

Mexican oil major said that its and condensate production in the past three months was 1.75 million barrels per hour (bpd). This is an increase of 4.5% from the previous quarter in 2020.

Company claimed that it saw an increase in output due to its almost 30 priority areas, which equates to 322,000 bpd by the close of last year.

A filing by the company with the local stock market revealed that the state-run business reported that the financial debt it had closed in 2021 was $109 billion. This is 0.7% less than the previous year.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is pledging to save Pemex, which is the largest indebted oil company in the world, and has provided financial support of billions to the company.

Pemex stated in December that it will continue cutting crude oil exports in this year, and may suspend them entirely in 2023, as it works towards meeting the government’s goal of producing all its oil domestically.

It took over the Deer Park Texas refinery, which produces 340,000 barrels per day (bpd), in January. The company also stated that it would provide the facility with more than 100,000 bpd from its Maya heavy crude oil.

Analysts and traders claim that Pemex will have to give up a significant portion of its Asia sales in order to expand its gasoline- and diesel production.

($1 = 20.5075 pesos at end-December)