Gas stations show the flow between U.S. and Mexico

The ups and downs of the oil industry are ever present in the Houston economy, trickling down to affect things like home sales and restaurant closings.

But there’s nothing more tangible to the average person than pumping regular unleaded at a local gas station.

When our southern neighbor Mexico undid its energy monopoly in 2013 and opened its energy markets to the outside world, it seemed like a big deal but didn’t necessarily touch the typical consumer. That changed in 2015 when Mexico’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, opened its first Pemex-branded gas station in the United States in southeast Houston.

With the pomp and circumstance of a full mariachi band and an accompanying “taco shack,” Pemex’s retail move into Houston didn’t mean much financially, but it represented a big symbolic gesture. As international energy companies head into Mexico, Pemex wanted to make its presence known beyond Mexico. Where better to start than tapping into Houston’s large Mexican population?

Pemex has since opened a few more gas stations in Houston, Pasadena and Webster. And now Big Oil is returning the favor and launching its first gas stations within Mexico’s borders. That may not sound like a big deal, but most Mexicans have never pumped gas from any station other than one owned by Pemex.

While most of Mexico’s energy reforms have focused on promises of deep-water drilling and potentially large oil reserves, there’s also a large market in retail fuel sales. Apart from China and India, Mexico is the only large economy still growing in fuel demand, Pemex CEO José Antonio González Anaya said in May in an interview with the Chronicle.

London-based BP opened the first non-Pemex fueling station in the Mexico City area in March with plans to open 200 more just by the end of this year. Texas’ Exxon Mobil quickly followed suit, announcing this past week it will open a string of retail gas stations in Mexico later this year under the Mobil brand name.

Exxon Mobil said it plans to invest $300 million in gas stations, inventories and marketing over the next 10 years in Mexico.

“Recent energy reforms present a unique opportunity to help meet the growing demand for reliable fuel supplies and quality service in Mexico,” said Martin Proske, Exxon Mobil’s Mexico fuels director. “Exxon Mobil’s presence will help give consumers new choices.”

Not that the transition to a free market has been easy. Gasoline costs were fixed in Mexico under the Pemex monopoly, and the lifting of price controls led to higher prices. Big jumps in January ignited protests and looting through much of the country.

Gonzalez Anaya said Mexico’s consumers are getting used to daily adjustments in gasoline prices common in the U.S. and other countries. Going forward, he expects more growth for Pemex and international energy companies on both sides of the border, regardless of antitrade rhetoric coming from Washington.

“We already have an important oil and gas trade,” he said. “I think the ties will strengthen moving forward.”

“Exxon Mobil’s presence will help give consumers new choices.” Martin Proske of Exxon Mobil, commenting on Mobil stations that will open in Mexico