Yucatán figures in retail chain Costco’s plans to enter the business of selling fuel in Mexico.
According to Forbes Mexico, Costco Gas has applied to the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) for the construction and operation of gas stations in Sinaloa, San Luis Potosí and Yucatán. Each station would have nine pumps.
Fuel sales would be exclusively for Costco members, which implies that gas would be sold at preferential rates. Costco is a U.S.-based warehouse-type retailer that shoppers pay an annual fee to access.
With private-sector competition now allowed, Pemex gas stations will yield to private companies, including Hidrosina, Gulf, The Gas and Oxxo. The Gas opened in Mérida last June.
It is not known if the gas station would be adjacent to the Costco store on the Prolongación in the north of Mérida. In the U.S. and Canada, nearly all new Costco stores have adjacent filling stations.
The stations would be run by Costco Gas, a subsidiary of Costco. In late 2015, the company had 490 petrol stations operating worldwide.
In the application, Costco asks authorities to note that their fiberglass tanks would benefit the environment.
Costco Wholesale Corp. operates 37 stores in Mexico with a little more than 4 million members.
