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Skeleton crews kept oil flowing near the central coast.
Dean crossed the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 5 storm. While it caused substantial damage, there were no reports of deaths, a relief after the storm killed 13 people in the Caribbean.
The storm then moved into the Bay of Campeche, which holds more than 100 oil platforms and three major oil exporting ports.
Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon ordered the evacuation of almost 20,000 workers from all Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) offshore platforms, shutting down 407 offshore wells that account for more than 80% of the country’s oil production.
Pemex yesterday announced it had shut offshore operations, including in Cantarell, that daily produce about 2.6 million barrels of oil and 2.63 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
Production is expected to restart in four days, and will cost Pemex around $US1.5 billion in lost revenue.
