After a fire that killed four workers, with three still missing, Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) began to restore production at the Abkatún central processing platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Abkatún A. From PEMEX Flickr. |
The fatal blaze erupted in the early hours of 1 April and tore through the Abkatún Permanente platform, ceasing operations.
At a press conference held of 5 April in the Cuidad de Carmen, Campeche, PEMEX PEP CEO Gustavo Hernández said that they expect to restore 80% of production in coming weeks to what it was at before the fire, since the processing center is in suitable structural conditions.
Hernández said that PEMEX is expecting to reach its original production goal of 646,000 b/d of crude oil and 1.442 MMcf of gas. Operations began at the Abkatún D platform, and are incorporating the production of the Ixtal, Manif and Onel fields.
PEMEX confirmed that the fire resulted in four deaths, one PEMEX worker and three Cotemar workers; 45 workers that received some form of medical care, two of which remain in serious condition; and three people still missing.
Hernández stressed that internal protocols at the time of the fire worked as planned, which allowed timely and rapid evacuation of 301 workers with the support of 10 vessels and 28 helicopters that “avoided tragedy of major proportions.”
On 3 April, the attorney general of Mexico announced its investigation into the PEMEX fire for possible charges of murder and mischief. The Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) is working with state and regional entities to question the incident that will include various field experts in photography, forensics, chemistry, fingerprinting, medicine, fire, explosives and mechanical engineering to aid in the investigation.
The Agencia de Seguridad, Energia y Medio Ambiente (ASEA) will also begin its own investigation.
PEMEX says that the fire did not cause an oil spill in the Bay of Campeche and a hydrocarbon runoff that occurred was addressed with specialized vessels. In addition, the smoke that could be seen from the platform was from crude oil that was in the pipeline.
Abkatún is part of PEMEX's Abkatún-Pol-Chuc complex, that is located 132km northeast from the Port of Dos Bocas between the states of Campeche and Tabasco. Production at the light oil fields began in 1980.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, production from Abkatún-Pol-Chuc has declined from its mid-1990s peak levels, when output exceeded 700,000 b/d. Production was only reported to be under 300,000 b/d in 2013.
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