Mexican petroleum workers targeted in drug gangs' war zone

08:58 AM CST on Friday, November 12, 2010
The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY – Threats and violence by drug gangs are preventing government oil workers from reaching installations in northern Mexico and costing state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos $350,000 a day in lost production, a company official said Thursday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Pemex has shut down the equivalent of about 100 million cubic feet of natural gas production per day. That amounts to about $10.5 million per month in natural gas revenues.

The lost production is centered in the Burgos gas field near the Texas border, in an area where drug gangs have threatened and kidnapped Pemex workers.

Army troops are now helping Pemex provide increased security.

The problem came to a head in May, when five workers at a gas plant were abducted by armed men. The father of one of the victims said the workers had been warned to stay away. The kidnapped men have not been heard from.

The kidnappers are believed to belong to either the Gulf cartel or the Zetas, which are waging a bloody turf war in northern Tamaulipas state.

The Associated Press

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