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Tuesday, 02 December, 2008, 02:20 GMT | more >>

Pemex workers stranded by high winds



By Upstream staff 

Dozens of Mexican oil workers were still missing in rough waters today after fierce storms and eight-metre waves forced them to abandon a drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, state-owned Pemex said.

Mexico closed its main oil exporting ports in the Gulf of Mexico as a cold front hit the area yesterday, cutting off most of the country's vital crude shipments to the US.

Pemex said 81 workers jumped from one platform into life rafts after rough seas caused a gas and oil leak.

About 75 of them had been located but could not be reached, and the others were lost.

One life raft was missing and some workers could have fallen into the sea as 130 kilometre per hour winds lashed the platform, Pemex's chief executive Jesus Reyes Heroles said.

He said he heard an unconfirmed report that two workers had died.

"We are still working to verify how many are in the (lost) life raft and to rescue those who were in the water. The weather has not helped," Reyes Heroles told Mexican television.

He described the damaged platform, 32 kilometres from the port of Dos Bocas, as minor in terms of production but said mostly natural gas was still leaking from its well.

The government said most of Mexico's Gulf coast ports were closed, including the oil ports of Coatzacoalcos, Dos Bocas and Cayo Arcas.

Pemex said it should be able to adjust its shipping schedule to minimise the impact of the port closures, Reuters said.


Wednesday, 24 October, 2007, 06:25 GMT  | last updated: Wednesday, 24 October, 2007, 07:56 GMT

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