An oil spill was detected at Pemex facilities north of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, last Thursday, prompting the Navy to activate a contingency plan to help the state-owned company control the leak quickly enough to assure the public that no oil would reach the coastline.
Unlike the major Gulf Coast incident that occurred earlier this year, Pemex quickly confirmed that crude was leaking from one of its pipelines.
En la Sonda de Campeche, Pemex inició instalación de la envolvente metálica, a 50 metros de profundidad, para la reparación de la sección afectada del ducto submarino en campo Ek-Balam, ocurrida el jueves 10 y que puso en alerta ante derrame de crudo en aguas del Golfo de México. pic.twitter.com/dNDHANG8kA
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“Immediate action was taken to depressurize the pipeline and isolate it by closing safety valves at its ends,” Pemex said in a statement released on Saturday. “Since then, it has remained without flow and without any leakage.”
Complementing Pemex’s security measures, the Navy deployed its ARM “Guanajuato” Ocean Patrol Vessel, four additional boats and two aircraft, along with 255 naval personnel.
Additionally, continuous observation is being carried out to monitor the evolution of the slick — which measured 4 square kilometers on Thursday — and forecast its movement so as to apprise state authorities and the public.
Agency for Safety, Energy and the Environment (ASEA) scientists were analyzing three drift forecast models, all projecting a net westward shift over the next five days. ASEA has also been conducting overflights to document the containment, the clean-up and repair efforts.
The Permanent Observatory of the Gulf of Mexico — which discovered and reported the leak — is an integrated, real-time environmental monitoring system created by the federal government in April.
It was launched amid fallout over a massive leak in February that Pemex officials originally hid from upper management and then was made worse when the oil company denied responsibility.
This time, authorities have been more transparent. Pemex acknowledged that the incident occurred at its Ek Balam platform system, part of the Cantarell oil field, one of the most productive in Mexican history
By Sunday, the dredging of the seabed had been completed and Pemex said pipeline repairs would be completed in the coming days.
With reports from LopezDoriga.com, El Economista, Vanguardia and El País
