Mexico's Pemex says 700,000 barrels of oil output affected after fatal explosion

Oil company working to recover production, Pemex chief Octavio Romero says

Pemex chief executive Octavio Romero visited the platform that caught fire at the Cantarell field. Photo: Pemex

Mexican oil company Petroleos Mexicanos said it lost production capacity for about 700,000 barrels of oil, more than a third of its daily output, after a massive platform explosion on Friday that left at least two people dead.

The company is working to recover production, Octavio Romero, Pemex's chief executive, confirmed in a video late on Saturday, and it has already recovered to 600,000 barrels.

About 450,000 barrels of oil and more than 560 million cubic feet of gas, roughly 11 per cent of Pemex’s total natural gas output, were lost on Saturday only at the Ku Maloob Zaap production asset as the company shut production as a contingency measure, a source said earlier.

While the one-day loss is significant, it is likely to be temporary as Pemex resumes some of its operations following the deadly blaze, the source said. A Pemex representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the loss or its current production capacity outside of normal office hours.

Two people died and one remains missing after Pemex reported an explosion at the Nohoch Alfa platform gas processing centre in the Cantarell field early on Friday.

Mr Romero said the platform’s connection module was destroyed but firefighting efforts had helped stop the blaze from spreading.

Pemex’s head of exploration and production Angel Cid said the explosion “substantially impacted” production at the platform.

Mexico’s Cotemar, which provides oilfield services, confirmed in a statement on Saturday the two workers who died in the blast were its employees and another one is still missing.

Pemex has come under scrutiny from analysts for its environmental and safety record after frequent accidents and explosions at its facilities. The company is shouldering $107.4 billion (Dh394.4 billion) in debt, the most of any oil major, and is struggling under a liquidity crunch.