U.S. contractors say they have been in protracted negotiations about the demolition or removal of a damaged oil platform in the Bay of Campeche where 23 workers have died. But Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the Mexican state-owned oil company responsible for the platform, says it will demolish the platform only if a nearby fire puts the platform’s structural integrity at risk.

The multiple contractors, who did not want to be identified, have consulted with Pemex and its subcontractors about the Usumacinta platform, which was driven by 80-mph winds and 25-ft waves into a nearby light production platform on Oct. 23.

The workers who died were trying to evacuate the Usumacinta after the accident. The Usumacinta is owned by  Compañía Perforadora Central, based in Ciudad del Carmen, in the state of Campeche, and was being used to drill a new well.

The accident damaged an adjacent well, Kab-121, which has repeatedly caught fire since the accident. Pemex officials say the oil company has gained control of the well and can turn the fire on and off with a valve. The fire burns away the 422 barrels of oil a day that is leaking from Kab-121. If it isn’t burned, the oil sinks to the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, where currents have been carrying it to Mexican beaches.

The company has removed Usumacinta’s tower and drilling floor, according to Pemex spokeswoman Martha Avelar. A bridge between the platform and the Kab-101 rig has also been removed. Avelar says the company would next install a new drilling floor, which will allow better well control.

Pemex officials say the company will not resume production at its wells in the field until the middle of next year. The field produced 5,700 barrels of oil a day.