Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
4 min of reading 
Recurrent: In July, One of the Largest Platforms of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) Had a Submarine Pipeline Leak and Caused an Explosion and Fire of 150 Meters in the Gulf of Mexico
Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) employees were taken by surprise on the afternoon of last Sunday, August 22, 2021, when an explosion at one of its oil platforms in Campeche forced them to evacuate the area. After the fire was controlled at the E-Ku-A2 platform, Pemex’s president, Octavio Romero, reported the death of five workers.
One of the deceased was an oil worker employed by the state-owned producer, while four were from the oil services company Cotemar; in addition, there are two missing from the Bufete de Monitoreo de Condiciones e Integridad company.
There are reports of six injured individuals being treated in hospitals, one of whom is in critical condition while the others are in recovery. The Pemex executive also ruled out that the fire was due to equipment failures or lack of maintenance.
-
Brazilian giant expands borders in the Southeast: Petrobras confirms new oil discovery in ultra-deep waters in the pre-salt of the Campos Basin.
-
Alert in the global energy market: Severe tropical cyclone hits the coast and disrupts gas production at major plants in Australia, threatening global supply.
-
Petrobras finds high-quality oil in the pre-salt at 113 km from RJ and reignites expectations about strategic reserves in the Campos Basin.
-
Ocyan opens registrations for startups focused on innovation in the oil and gas sector and will select projects for Innovation Day with the support of Nexio.
This is the second incident at the shallow water oil field known as Kú Maloob Zap, following the explosion on July 2nd of last year in an underwater conduit that ends at the Kú-C platform.
These incidents highlight the potential risk of oil infrastructure, while budget cuts from previous governments and the refusal of the 4T to reverse the energy reform result in lack of maintenance of the infrastructure and the potential for more disasters like this.
Search for the Missing
The company stated that the exhaustive search for missing persons remains active, “stabilizing the integrity of the facilities, as well as assessing the damage.”
“PEMEX expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and provides support to the workers affected by this incident, as well as their families,” concluded the statement.
According to Reuters, the fire started when the platform was in operation and the workers were evacuated in flotels, ships designed for unexpected evacuation and to assist in hydrocarbon extraction.
Additionally, it was unofficially indicated that the accident occurred at a distribution center for gas and crude oil.
Watch Below the Video of the Explosion of the E-Ku-A2 Oil Platform of Pemex
Incidents Involving the Pemex Refinery This Year
On August 7, 2021, the Mexican refinery Salina Cruz controlled a fire at its facilities during the early hours of the morning that did not injure anyone, a Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) official told Reuters.
The incident occurred after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake on June 22, with the epicenter in Crucecita, Oaxaca, 148 kilometers from a refinery in Salina Cruz, where, besides some damage to structures, there was an explosion in one of its reactors, causing a fire after the earthquake.
The “Antonio Dovalí Jaime” refinery caught fire due to the movement that raised its temperature. Pemex reported that the fire in the turbo generators and boiler caused a fire that was immediately extinguished.
On the other hand, in the early hours of July 2, the surface of the Gulf of Mexico caught fire as a result of a gas leak from an offshore pipeline of Pemex.
In July, One of the Largest Platforms of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) Had a Submarine Pipeline Leak and Caused an Explosion and Fire of 150 Meters in the Gulf of Mexico
A gas leak in the submarine pipeline of the company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), at a depth of almost 80 meters, caused, in the early hours of Friday (07/02), an explosion and a fire of 150 meters from the Ku Sierra platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Watch the video below.
According to Pemex, the fire caused by the leak in the submarine pipeline was controlled after the interconnection valves were closed and also claims that there were no casualties. The causes of the fire are still under investigation.
According to the incident report, the machinery of the Ku Maloob Zaap production facilities was hit by heavy rain and a thunderstorm. The company sent firefighting boats to the Gulf of Mexico that pumped more water to control the situation. Despite rumors, the causes of the leak in the submarine pipeline remain unknown.
-
Uma pessoa reagiu a isso.