As this publication reported yesterday, at approximately 0936 EST, reports began to emerge of an explosion and large fire on the Pemex Nohoch Alfa Oil Platform which is approximately 80km off the coast of Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico.
Pemex has confirmed that two workers were killed, three have been injured, and at least one is still missing at 2350 EST on July 7th, 2023. However, Pemex also mentioned in their statement that five employees from another private company on board to rig we’re also injured. The statement reads below:
“The general director of Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), Eng. Octavio Romero Oropeza, reported that, regarding the fire that occurred this morning, the firefighting boats arrived on time and thanks to this, the fire did not spread to the other platforms of the Nohoch processing center, since only one of the five platforms was the one where the accident occurred.
Romero Oropeza reiterated that the most important thing for PEMEX is the safety of the personnel, as well as the employees of the companies that work there. However, he commented that there were three injured workers, who, fortunately, are already out of danger, to such an extent that two of them are already at home while the other has burns on 35% of his body, for which he will be transferred the Hospital Central Sur de Alta Especialidad in Picacho, Mexico City; to receive specific care for your burns, but without risk to your life.
He also added that, by a private company, there are five people injured, but none of them is at risk of losing their lives. However, he regretted that two workers from the private company lost their lives and one is still missing. Consequently, he guaranteed that all those affected will receive full support from Petróleos Mexicanos and the company where they work.
In terms of production, the general director commented that the incident will affect several thousand barrels of equivalent crude oil, that is, oil and gas, for which reason a rapid return to production will be sought with defined strategies, thereby reducing the time in which it will return to operate in that Processing Center and, finally, confirmed that the fire has already been controlled and work will be done to find the root cause.”
En @Pemex la prioridad es la seguridad. Del incendio de esta madrugada en la plataforma Nohoch_A, los resultados preliminares son que en #Pemex no hay personal faltante. Lamentablemente, fallecieron 2 personas y hay 1 desaparecido de la empresa que realizaba trabajos en la… pic.twitter.com/vc2LMzqalC
— Petróleos Mexicanos (@Pemex) July 7, 2023
Oil recovery and production has been suspended on the entire platform complex until the fire is completely under control.