After an investigation that proves that the president’s son Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador rented a house in Houston to a company worker Baker Hughessame that obtained millionaire contracts in Mexican oil (Pemex) in that same period, the state oil company and the Mexican federal government were forced to defend themselves by ensuring that the works were awarded through public tenders and “there are no consented companies, nor have they been created in the present administration.”
And it is that the American company specialized in energy and technological solutions, Baker Hughesreceived assignments in Pemex for 194 million dollars, equivalent to about 3,900 million pesos between August 2019 and January 2020, a period that coincides with the period in which Jose Ramon Lopez Beltranson of President López Obrador, leased a residence in Houston to Keith Schilling, who was a senior executive of the company, according to an investigation by Mexicans against Corruption and Impunity Y Latinus.
And of that amount, another 109 million dollars were revealed this Saturday, February 5, by the journalist Peniley Ramirezin an article published in the newspaper Reforma.
Given this, in statements to the Bloomberg agency, Schilling said that he had no prior knowledge that the tenant was the eldest son of the president of Mexico.
So the CEO of Pemex, Octavio Romero Oropezapresented this Wednesday during the press conference from National Palacethe history of contracts for goods and services, in recent years, of Pemex with the Baker Hughes company.
Romero Oropeza explained that Baker Hughes is ranked fifth among the 25 companies that bill Pemex the most.
“The increase in the billing amounts with these companies in recent years is explained by the increase in exploration and production activity promoted by this administration and can be corroborated with the results achieved in reserves and production in the recent three years. “, He said.
According to the head of Pemex, the Latinus agency, commanded by the journalist Carlos Loret de Molaand the civil association Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity, financed by the businessman Claudio X. Gonzalezlie when they claim that in August 2019 Baker Hughes was awarded a direct assignment for 89 million dollars, since it was a public tender in which six companies participated to provide electro-centrifugal pumps and the ruling indicates that Baker Hughes won by offering 42% below the reference price.
Likewise, he explained that the Reforma columnist, Peniley Ramírez, is unaware of the different types of contracts that are handled in Pemex, since they are not extensions granted to the Baker Hughes company, but service orders provided for in the referential agreements and that are permitted by law, which is why they were not questioned by the Superior Audit of the Federation.
The public official explained that a referential contract is one whose purpose is to provide goods and services to Pemex in at least five years. During this time, through requests for work orders, amounts can be added to the framework contracts depending on the needs of the projects.
“These requirements are not discretionary and are based on a catalog with pre-established prices for goods and services that guarantee that the company, in this case Baker Hughes, cannot sell below the agreed prices,” he said.
Thus, Pemex used its resources and the time of the presidential conference to defend the son of the country’s president, finally explaining that these contracts are standards in the international industry and not only guarantee the best economic conditions for Pemex, but also save time .