The president-elect said his government will invest an additional 175 billion pesos ($9.4 billion) next year in state-run energy companies.

According to THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Mexican President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday his government will earmark 175 billion pesos ($9.4 billion) in additional investment next year at state-run energy companies and will start work on a new oil refinery in southern Mexico.

Mr. López Obrador, who campaigned on promises to reduce Mexico’s dependence on imports for gasoline and other fuels, said state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos urgently needs to reverse the decline in oil production and refining.