Pemex says refinery, pipeline fires will not hit output

Pemex said it did not expect production to be disrupted after it put out a fire overnight at its Madero refinery in northern Mexico as well as another blaze at a pipeline in the center of the country.
The state oil company said via its Twitter account that other parts of the refinery were not affected. The Madero refinery processes 186,000 barrels per day, according to the company's website.
The Pemex spokeswoman said the company did not expect the fire, which broke out in a boiler at the hydro-desulfurization plant la te Monday, to have an impact on production at the refinery.
After experts reviewed the accident site, Pemex said there were signs of a rise in pressure in a heating unit at the plant but it was still ev aluating damage and in vestigating th e ro ot ca use of the blaze. P emex sa id there were no injuries.
The Madero plant is one of six refineries run by Pemex. Mexico imports nearly half of its gasoline due to a lack of domestic refining capacity.
In a separate incident, Pemex workers and local firefighters in the central state of Hidalgo put out an overnight fire at a 12-inch (11.6-cm) duct carrying gasoline and diesel and running from Tula to Salamanca, the company said in a statement.
Pemex said the fire was caused by an illegal tapping of the pipeline by thieves, and the company spokeswoman said the fire would not affect oil production.
Criminal bands steal between 20,000 and 25,000 barrels of crude oil every day by siphoning products from Pemex pipelines, a company official said late last month.
Source: Reuters