[NYTr] Up to 1,200 firms halted by Mexico pipeline blasts
 
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 15:50:46 -0500 (CDT)


Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
sent by Milt Shapiro - 13 Jul 2007 22:20 ET

Reuters - Jul 12, 2007

Up to 1,200 firms halted by Mexico pipeline blasts

Up to 1,200 companies in Mexico stopped production because of 
problems with the supply of natural gas following a rash of pipeline 
explosions caused by rebels, an industrial group said on Thursday.

The leftist Popular Revolutionary Army, or EPR, has claimed 
responsibility for four attacks on state monopoly Pemex's pipelines 
carrying natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, crude oil and gasoline 
over the past week.

"There are more than a thousand, nearly 1,200 companies, that have 
been greatly hurt because of the lack of (gas) supply," industrial 
group Canacintra's head, Victor Manuel Lopez, told Reuters.

Automakers like Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors 
Corp. are among the companies hurt by the blasts, he said.

Industrial hubs in central states like Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, 
Jalisco and Queretaro are the most affected by the gas shortage, 
Lopez said.

Pemex said on Thursday it had restoring natural gas supply to the 
central city of Queretaro and hoped to restore supply in Jalisco and 
the city of Guadalajara by midnight. It expects to have supplies 
fully restored by the end of the week.

"Workers at Petroleos Mexicanos connected a bypass to the 
Mexico-Guadalajara natural gas duct and began tests," the company 
said in a statement.

Mexico has deployed soldiers and federal police to protect Pemex's 
oil wells and pipelines from further attacks.

Mexico's stock exchange has also increased security, a director of 
the market said on Thursday.

"We are beefing up our security and preventive measures," exchange 
director Pedro Zorilla told reporters. "There is no clear picture, 
information is lacking but the facts are worrying without doubt."

Zorilla did not detail the higher security at the exchange, where 
trading has been little influenced by rebel attacks. The bourse's key 
index closed up more than 1 percent on Thursday.

Mexico's top glass maker, Vitro, said on Wednesday it had halted 
operations at two plants, meaning $800,000 less in earnings before 
interest and taxes per day.

(Reporting by Rosario Torres Limon, Anahi Rama and Cyntia Barrera Diaz)

Copyright B) 2007 Reuters Limited
       
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