Pemex continues operations at Mexico plants despite logistics jam

13 October 2010 20:53  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Mexican chemical plants continue to run normally despite logistics complications and delivery delays brought on by torrential rains in Mexico’s southeast region, a manager with Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said on Wednesday.

While railroad transportation was stopped and truck deliveries delayed by road conditions, Pemex Petroquimica had managed to avert plant stoppages caused by inventory overflow in storage tanks, said polymers sales manager Alejandro Ramírez Chavez.

The company said it was asking buyers to send their own trucks to plants to remove product from tanks faster, enabling continued production. This action along with Pemex's own truck deliveries had been enough to avoid production interruptions, he said.

Much of the latest rain was brought on by Hurricane Paula, which on Wednesday was stationary just off the northeast tip of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The area was already saturated by flooding in recent weeks from former Hurricane Karl and the remnants of Tropical Storm Matthew.

Rains have subsided in the rest of the country, but remained a problem in the southeast, according to weather reports.

Railroad traffic is scheduled to resume on 22 October if there is no further overflow from nearby rivers, according to a report from railroad operator Ferrosur.

The plants that are stopped are down for programmed maintenance, Ramirez said. The overall reduction in production is about 20%, he said.

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By: George Martin
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