The Salina Cruz Refinery

Historical Development, Energy Impact, and Its Role in the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec

Abstract

Since its inauguration in 1979, the “Ing. Antonio Dovalí Jaime” refinery in Salina Cruz has occupied a strategic position within México’s National Refining System (SNR) and national energy policy. From a historical-analytical and International Relations perspective, this article examines how the refinery’s operational trajectory helps evaluate tensions among energy sovereignty, security of supply, dependence on fuel imports, and regional development linked to the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT). The methodology combines a review of specialized literature, official sources—PEMEX Statistical Yearbooks and reports from SENER, CEFP and CNH—and comparative indicators of crude processing and refined-products output across refineries. The findings show that Salina Cruz has been one of the most relevant complexes in the SNR, although recent performance reveals structural constraints associated with technological aging, deferred maintenance, low capacity utilization and the need for deeper conversion. At the same time, rehabilitation investments, coking units, Dos Bocas and Deer Park confirm a state strategy aimed at reducing imports and recovering energy-policy autonomy. The article concludes that Mexican energy sovereignty depends not only on increasing refining volumes, but also on coordinating public investment, technological modernization, international cooperation with capability transfer, and a gradual transition that reduces environmental and fiscal costs.