Gas Bienestar faces infrastructure and coverage gaps five years after launch

Five years after its creation in 2021, Gas Bienestar, a subsidiary of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), remains far from its goal of providing national coverage for LP gas. Originally designed as a project of the ‘Cuarta Transformación’ to offer competitive fuel prices, the company’s operations are currently concentrated primarily in Mexico City.

According to data from the National Energy Commission (CNE), Gas Bienestar accounts for only 5 percent of LP gas delivery units in the capital and 1.9 percent of the national total. While the company expected to move approximately 19,000 cylinders daily, current estimates place the average below 10,000. In Iztapalapa, the company utilizes 43 trucks to serve roughly 500,000 families, with an additional 200 units operating across nine other districts to reach an estimated one million households.

The company faces significant infrastructure and operational challenges. A planned distribution plant on the Jorobas-Tula highway in Hidalgo has not been built, forcing units to be supplied at Pemex terminals. Additionally, the company lacks its own autotanks for fuel transport. Financially, Gas Bienestar reported an accounting loss of 282.4 million pesos during its first year of operation, with expenses totaling 1,298 million pesos according to 2023 audited Pemex reports. In 2024, Pemex allocated an additional 300 million pesos to the entity.