CHICAGO -- Costco has opened its fourth fueling location in Mexico, as other U.S. fuel providers add to their site count in the country’s newly deregulated fuel market.
The Issaquah, Wash.-based warehouse club opened its first fueling site in Mexico in May 2017 in San Luis Potosi, according to Mexico Now. At that time, Costco had 37 stores in 21 Mexican states, with 4.3 million members. In August, it opened its fourth site—and its first in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico News Daily reported. The fueling site, estimated to cost about $3.3 million, sells Kirkland Signature branded gasoline and includes a c-store.
Costco has also opened fueling sites in Culiacan in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, and in Saltillo, Coahuila. The locations only accept credit or debit for payment, Mexico News Daily said, and members receive a 3% discount if they make their purchase with a Costco-branded card.
Costco is one of the first U.S. retailers to add fuel to its locations in Mexico. Walmart also plans to open 200 fueling sites, according to media reports.
They join other U.S. fuel providers—mainly refiners and producers—in targeting the Mexican market. This includes Andeavor, which plans to supply up to 400 Arco-branded sites, and Phillips 66, which opened its first fueling sites this summer.
A New Pemex
In March 2017, BP opened the first fueling location in Mexico to be operated and branded by a multinational oil company, as well as the first not supplied by state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), since the country began deregulating its fuel market in 2013. Since then, several multinational companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell, have opened fueling sites in Mexico.
In response to the flood of new competition, Pemex is stepping up its game. In August, it debuted a new branding package, with plans to roll it out to about 100 new and existing sites by the end of the year, according to Mexico News Daily. The branding features a green, white and red color scheme, reflecting the colors of the Mexican flag, and an eagle logo that aims to portray Pemex as “a leader, strong and agile, with its wings extended towards new challenges,” the oil company said.
Carlos Murrieta Cummings, who oversees Pemex’s industrial transformation division, said the new image is aimed at keeping its fuel retail franchise in a leadership position.
“The new image breaks with the conventional and projects a new Pemex: a highly competitive business in an open market,” he said.
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