Mexican state oil giant Pemex expects to meet its 2015 output target of 646,000 barrels per day (bpd) for the oil-producing region where a platform exploded last week, killing four people and leaving three more missing, a top executive said late on Sunday.
The fire broke out on Pemex's Abkatun Permanente processing platform in the oil-rich Bay of Campeche on Wednesday, leading to the evacuation of 302 people. The blaze was not extinguished until 7.30 p.m. local time, Reuters said in a report.
Gustavo Hernandez, Pemex's head of exploration and production, said the incident had led Pemex to shutter production of about 220,000 bpd, with some 170,000 bpd coming back online between Sunday and Monday.
"The original 2015 production target for the Southeast Marine Region of 646,000 bpd of oil will be met," Pemex said in a document accompanying Hernandez' press conference.
Mexico is the world's 10th biggest crude producer at just under 2.3 million bpd, down about a third from a peak of 3.4 million bpd in 2004. Part of the Abkatun Pol Chuc offshore complex, the damaged platform separates crude oil and gas from various wells.
Also on Sunday, Pemex officials said they were searching for the three workers that went missing after the platform fire, and are beginning to restore production at the damaged Gulf of Mexico facility.
