Explosive disaster at sea: Pemex platform erupts in flames, fatalities reported

An early morning fire on Friday at an offshore platform, run by the Mexican state oil company Pemex in the Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico, led to the death of two workers while another is still missing.

The fire started at the Nohoch-A platform and later spread to a compression platform. The platform operates in Cantarell Field, once known as one of the most productive oil fields worldwide.

Pemex confirmed through Twitter that all other workers had been accounted for and also acknowledged the fire’s significant impact on oil production. This event is expected to have a substantial impact on the oil output, though the company did not disclose specific details. Restoration efforts are underway, with technicians assessing how to repair pipelines, interconnections, and other works affected by the fire.

Tragic fire at Pemex offshore platform leads to casualties, missing worker. Photo courtesy of BoH/Wikimedia Commons.

The company’s CEO, Octavio Romero, prioritized locating the missing worker and the reactivation of activities in the area, due to the platform’s significance. According to a company statement, out of the 328 people working on the platform, 321 were evacuated successfully.

Cantarell, despite its crude output significantly declining over the past decade, is responsible for approximately 170,000 barrels per day, as per company data. The majority of Mexican oil production originates from the nearby shallow water fields surrounding the Bay of Campeche in the southern Gulf, an area where Pemex has experienced several industrial accidents in recent years.

Discovered in 1976, the Cantarell Field was brought into production in 1979 and is still contributing significantly to Mexico‘s oil output.