Pemex evacuates personnel from sinking floatel

Offshore staff

MEXICO CITY – Pemex says it has evacuated 638 workers from the semisubmersible Jupiter hotel in the Gulf of Mexico. Dow Jones reports that Pemex took the personnel to the Abkatun-Alfa platform.

Meanwhile, Pemex has halted work on sealing the leaking pontoon because of deck equipment falling into the water. The flotel began listing when water began flowing into one of the semis’ pontoons on location 80 km (48 mi) offshore Ciudad de Carmen, Campeche state in about 50 m (164 ft) water depth.

No cause for the leak, which began on April 12, has been released.

04/14/2011