HomeNews
News

5 dead after Pemex platform fire in Campeche Bay

0
Smoke billows from a fire on a Pemex oil platform Sunday.
Smoke billows from a fire on a Pemex oil platform Sunday.

Five people are dead and two people are missing after a fire Sunday aboard a Pemex offshore platform in Campeche Bay. Another six people were injured and one worker suffered from nervous shock.

Five of the workers were Pemex employees and eight were employed by Pemex contractors.

The fire started at 3:10 p.m. on the platform, part of a gas processing center located in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil field. It was brought under control at 4:30 p.m., Pemex said in a press release.

Reuters reported Monday that the natural gas valves on the platform were closed to extinguish the fire, shutting off gas supply to neighbouring oil fields. That triggered a decline in the availability of natural gas, which in turn caused crude output to plummet from 719,000 barrels a day to 275,000 early Monday, Reuters said, based on a company document it had seen.

Natural gas is reinjected into oil reservoirs to increase pressure and force the flow of oil.

It is the second fire at a Pemex installation in Campeche Bay since July, when natural gas leaked from an underwater pipeline and rose to the surface, where it caught fire.

Pemex said that fire was likely caused by a lightning strike. There were no casualties nor was there any damage to Pemex facilities.

The company said Sunday an investigation had begun but no further information had been released by early Monday afternoon.

UPDATED 4:42 p.m. Monday, August 23 with new information regarding the number of deaths.

With reports from Reuters

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Maps shows temperatures across Mexico on Sept. 10; yellow polygons indicate rain warnings in northwest Mexico while in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Norbert heads out to sea

While Mexico’s northern border states deal with a heat alert, monsoon conditions drench the Pacific Coast

MND Staff - 0
Mexican states not baking from the combined effects of low-pressure troughs and Tropical Wave 37 are likely getting drenched from monsoon conditions. A few states — such as Sinaloa and Guanajuato — are experiencing both.
Vendors line the street of Mexico City's historic center during Independence Day celebrations.

MND Local: Earthquake drills, K-pop and El Grito in CDMX

Drew Pittock - 1
A celebration of all things South Korea, a national earthquake drill, NFL Mexico City Series tickets and El Grito shape September in CDMX.
Chief Justice

A year in, Mexico’s newly constituted Supreme Court stresses autonomy, austerity and proximity to the people

MND Staff - 0
Chief Justice Hugo Aguilar Ortiz presented the new Court’s first annual report at a special event attended by the president, in which he stressed that Mexico is undergoing a transformation in how it administers justice.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity

VIDEO OF THE WEEK