Flames erupted in the Gulf of Mexico Friday after an underwater gas pipeline burst, Bloomberg reported.
Mexican state-owned oil company “Petroleos Mexicanos,” commonly known as “Pemex,” released a statement saying a 12-inch submarine pipeline burst at 5:15 a.m., sending flames to the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.
???? Sobre el incendio registrado en aguas del Golfo de México, en la Sonda de Campeche, a unos metros de la plataforma Ku-Charly (dentro del Activo Integral de Producción Ku Maloob Zaap)
Tres barcos han apoyado para sofocar las llamas pic.twitter.com/thIOl8PLQo
— Manuel Lopez San Martin (@MLopezSanMartin) July 2, 2021
The leak occurred 150 meters from the Ku-Maloob-Zaap’s Ku-C satellite platform in the Campeche Sound. The company announced the situation had been “dealt with immediately.” Three firefighting vessels were sent to the scene.
Pemex added that the pipeline valves were shut off, and the fire was extinguished at 10:45 a.m. There were no reported injuries, and the company said it would investigate the incident. (RELATED: Seahawk becomes first Gulf of Mexico drilling company to file bankruptcy due to offshore drilling moratorium)
The Ku-Maloob-Zaap platform is one of the company’s most productive clusters of oil fields, according to Bloomberg. It accounts for more than 700,000 barrels of oil a day, equating to roughly 40% of the company’s total output.
The oil company also has one of the largest debts of any oil company at $114 billion because it lacks the resources to invest in extraction technology, according to the report.