Fire Breaks Out At Pemex Oil Platform In Gulf Of Mexico, Leaving 1 Dead & 9 Injured

On April 6, 2024, Mexico’s state energy firm, Pemex, reported a fire that broke out at the Akal-B platform in the Gulf of Mexico. It added that it had activated and contained the emergency protocols.

However, the firm reported that at least one contractor lost his life following the accident, and two were in “grave” condition.

Pemex declared in a statement that five of these workers were its employees, while the rest were from other firms, such as COTER and Diavaz.

The fire broke out around late afternoon in a part of the Akal B platform where the gas pipelines are.

Videos and images captured from a boat close to the platform and circulated on social media indicated massive smoke rising from oil and gas infrastructure.

Akal-B is part of the firm’s ageing but still crucial Cantarell complex of shallow water wells.

The complex produces about 200,000 barrels of crude oil each day, but two decades ago, it was one of the top-producing fields in the world, with more than two million bpd of output.

Pemex did not share how oil and gas production from the complex is currently affected.

However, the firm noted that it would investigate the cause of the incident and take the actions required to “reestablish” its operations at the processing center.

Reference: Yahoo, Reuters