Mexican Petroleum (Pemex), the most indebted oil company in the world, will be under the command of a former finance official from Mexico City. President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Thursday Juan Carlos Carpio Fragoso as the next director of the state-owned company, replacing Víctor Rodríguez Padilla. The official served as head of Finance at the oil company. An economist by profession, he has solid experience in debt management and public finance. In addition, he has a recognized closeness with the economic team of the current Administration, mainly with Luz Elena González, the current Secretary of Energy. This Friday, at the National Palace, Sheinbaum emphasized his career and knowledge about the firm: “He has a comprehensive knowledge of the company, he is the one who knows the most about all areas, not only from the financial perspective, but also, he helped in the process of consolidating Pemex as a single company,” she stated.
Hours after his appointment, he was endorsed by the company’s Board of Directors. The new director of Pemex indicated in writing this Friday that progress will be made in refining, petrochemical, fertilizers, logistics, and energy cogeneration projects and assured that the company’s greatest asset is its workers. “I am convinced that, with their support, discipline, integrity, honesty, and love for Mexico, we will continue moving through a strong energy sector, capable of responding to the country’s needs,” he concluded.
The executive, 47 years old, graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), was general director of Financial Administration when Sheinbaum was head of Government of Mexico City and González was her chief at the city’s Finance Secretariat. His first years in Public Administration date back to 2007, the year he landed in the Income Control Subdirectorate of that department. In 2017, already with a decade in the halls of Public Administration, he completed a master’s degree in Public Management at CIDE. He obtained the degree with the thesis: “Evaluation of consistency, results, and impact of the urban video surveillance program of Mexico City.”
Carpio arrived at Pemex’s Finance Directorate in October 2024, at the start of Sheinbaum’s presidency. His career has not been forged near the steel and platforms of the extractive industry. On the contrary, his strengths lie in economic and financial knowledge, as well as in his close collaboration with González, who since leading the Energy Secretariat (Sener) has played a very active role in the financial restructuring of the energy state companies, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), and Pemex. In the case of the oil company, the battery of measures ranges from funding with development banks to a sophisticated debt issuance with precapitalized notes.
Unlike Rodríguez Padilla, who had proven knowledge of the hydrocarbons industry, Carpio Fragoso’s profile implies a shift in the management of Pemex. A move aimed at cleaning up the finances of the battered oil company with the participation of Sener and the Ministry of Finance, headed by Édgar Amador Zamora. Despite continuous injections from the federal Government, the state company still carries a hefty debt of 79 billion dollars and 20.763 billion dollars with suppliers. Just this year, the company must cover liabilities of 9.4 billion dollars. Despite the recent rebound in the global price of crude oil, the state company lost more than 2.6 billion dollars in the first quarter of 2026.
Beyond rhetoric, the next director of Pemex will have to use all his skill to revive the company’s finances while demonstrating his technical abilities in implementing new strategies, such as fracking, to boost crude oil and natural gas production. As of March this year, oil extraction continued in a slump at 1.6 million barrels per day, far from the six-year goal of reaching 1.8 million barrels per day.
