Carlos Slim Sells $1.15 Billion in U.S. Oil Stocks

By Daniel Okafor

Carlos Slim has sold more than $1.15 billion of U.S. oil stocks this year, cutting his stakes in PBF Energy and Talos Energy roughly in half. His remaining holdings are worth about $1.4 billion, roughly their January value. The money has moved. The exposure has not disappeared.

What changed in Slim’s equity stakes?

Slim, Mexico’s richest man, is 86. Much of his estimated $124 billion fortune remains tied to telecommunications giant América Móvil. The oil transactions came through Control Empresarial de Capitales, the investment company he owns with his six children.

About $820 million of PBF share sales occurred over more than 100 trading days, while Slim sold another $252 million of Talos shares in October. That October sale accounted for nearly three-quarters of his Talos disposals for the year, according to Bloomberg. His remaining stakes stand at about 11% of PBF and 13% of Talos.

October’s Middle East tensions took Talos shares to a three-year high. Oilprice.com also linked the broader rise in crude prices and energy shares to the Iran war. That is market analysis, not a promise that either trend will persist.

The sales reduced listed holdings, but they did not remove Slim from oil.

What made PBF worth holding?

PBF operates six U.S. refineries, and its shares have gained more than 170% this year. Third-quarter results released Thursday supplied a clear operating explanation for that performance, with net income reaching $1.53 billion, nine times the $170 million reported one year earlier. Gross refining margin rose to $34.56 per barrel from $9, nearly quadrupling in one year.

Oilprice.com energy analyst Julianne Geiger wrote: “The worldwide fuel shortage has been considerably kinder to refiners than to people paying for diesel.” Her assessment captures the imbalance behind the result, though refinery margins and equity returns do not move in lockstep.

PBF’s earnings supported the remaining stake.

Is Slim retreating from Mexican oil?

No. Grupo Carso signed a $1.99 billion contract with Pemex last year to drill up to 32 wells at the Ixachi field in Veracruz, according to the company’s latest quarterly report. Eight wells have been delivered. Another two to four are expected by year-end.

Carso’s oil subsidiary Zamajal reported quarterly sales of 2.98 billion pesos, 447% above a year earlier. The Ixachi contract helped drive the increase. Eight delivered wells represent one quarter of the maximum drilling commitment.

The listed-equity sale and the drilling contract are separate decisions. One trims ownership of public shares; the other expands contracted work in Mexico.

Carso continues drilling in Veracruz while Slim reduces parts of his listed energy holdings.

Where does Zama fit?

Zamajal owns 17.8% of the offshore Zama field, while Talos retains 4.5%, leaving Zamajal’s direct interest almost four times larger than Talos’s stake in Zama. Slim is trimming Talos shares while keeping a larger direct interest in the Mexican oilfield than Talos itself.

The report gave no Zama startup date or production forecast. Ownership is not production, and the distinction matters.

Slim has reduced his indirect exposure to Talos while retaining the larger direct Zama position.

What should readers watch next?

Two figures deserve attention. First, Carso expects two to four more Ixachi wells by year-end. Second, PBF’s gross refining margin stood at $34.56 per barrel, against $9 a year earlier.

Geiger’s assessment points to the margin’s sensitivity. Conditions that help refiners can still leave diesel buyers paying more. No further stock sale was reported.

The next judgment on Slim’s oil strategy will come from well deliveries in Veracruz and PBF’s gross refining margin, last reported at $34.56 per barrel against $9 a year earlier.