By BRIAN WINGFIELD and DAN MURTAUGH

Mexico is making progress in its efforts to become the second country approved to accept US oil exports.

Petroleos Mexicanos, Mexico’s state-owned oil company, is still waiting on a ruling from the US Commerce Department on its January application to be able to get up to 100,000 bpd of light US oil in exchange for heavy Mexican oil, Lourdes Melgar, Mexico’s deputy energy secretary for hydrocarbons, said in an interview in Washington.

“From the information that I have, everything has been moving smoothly,” Melgar said. “We have gotten support from the US government, and it’s moving fine.”

The US oil would be used at Pemex refineries in Salamanca, Tula and Salina Cruz, that have a combined capacity of 825,000 bpd, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. After decades of relying on domestic production, Mexico’s government approved energy reforms last year that allowed its refiners to import oil.

Mexico’s national power company CFE wants to shift power generation feedstock away from fuel oil and toward natural gas, Melgar said. Lighter crude produces less fuel oil than the heavy crude Mexico produces, so the imports are needed for a more balanced refining slate, she said.

US crude production has increased by 72% in the past five years, leading companies like ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil to call for the US to end its 40-year-old ban on most unrefined crude exports. Shipments to Canada are allowed, and the US exported a record 502,000 bpd in November.

Pemex is negotiating with producers in the Eagle Ford and Permian regions in Texas and the Bakken region in North Dakota, Jose Manuel Carrera, CEO of PMI, the firm’s commercial arm, said March 30. It would import the US crude at the Pajaritos and Dos Bocas terminals.

Mexico also has a shortage of storage capacity, and will issue a policy for developing new tankage, Melgar said.

“It’s a great opportunity for investment in Mexico right now,” she said.