MEXICO CITY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Crude oil exports by

Mexican state energy company Pemex plunged 44%

year-on-year in January to 532,404 barrels per day (bpd), its

lowest in decades, official numbers show, as the company has

admitted it is struggling with crude quality.

The monthly level is the lowest since records in their

current form began in January 1990. Last year, exports averaged

just over 811,000 bpd and the year before just over one million

bpd.

Sales to the Americas ​​- an export designation dominated by

Pemex's largest market, the United States - were 320,944 bpd in

January, 36% less year-on-year, according to the numbers

released late on Tuesday.

Pemex Chief Executive Officer Victor Rodriguez said in

recent weeks that the company had a "temporary" problem with too

much salt and water in its crude oil and conceded that some

customers had complained.

However, Rodriguez said Pemex was in the process of solving

the problem, and that exports were not affected.

Pemex produced crude oil and condensate of 1.62 million bpd

in January, 12% less than the same month a year earlier.

Even as exports fell, Pemex's gasoline production rebounded

and imports declined some 23% from January 2024.

While Pemex does not give explanations for monthly export

numbers, it has in recent years pointed to important fields -

especially in the Gulf of Mexico - being depleted at a time when

new discoveries did not live up to expectations.

While Mexico's refining processing has improved, it is still

far from producing enough to stop importing the fuel it needs.

Processing across Pemex's seven local refineries hit 886,787

bpd in January, down 7%. However, it did not produce anything

last month at its new Olmeca refinery, which has a capacity of

340,000 bpd.