Petroleos Mexicanos suffered oil production losses equivalent to about a quarter of its total daily output Saturday, following a massive platform explosion the previous day that left at least two people dead.
Some 450,000 barrels of oil and more than 560 million cubic feet of gas, roughly 11% of Pemex’s total natural gas output, were lost on Saturday at the Ku Maloob Zaap production asset as the company shut production as a contingency measure, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
While the one-day loss is significant, it’s likely to be temporary as Pemex resumes some of its operations following the deadly blaze, the person said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. A Pemex representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside of normal office hours.
Two people died and one remains missing after Pemex reported an explosion at the Nohoch Alfa platform gas processing center in the Cantarell field early Friday. Pemex Chief Executive Officer Octavio Romero said late Friday that the platform’s connection module was destroyed, but that firefighting efforts helped stop the blaze from spreading to other modules.
Pemex’s head of exploration and production Angel Cid said the explosion “substantially impacted” production at the platform.
Read more: Pemex Platform Explosion Leaves Two Dead, Impacts Output
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 in debt, the most of any oil major, and is struggling under a liquidity crunch.
