Three killed in Pemex rig fire

THREE workers have been killed and at least seven injured in a fire that broke out on a Pemex oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday – the same facility where four workers died last April.

The fire broke out in the compression area of the Abkatún A Permanente oil processing platform, Pemex confirmed in a tweet on Sunday. The area was already isolated and it was not necessary to evacuate the platform or halt production.

Of the three workers killed, one worked for Pemex and another for contractor Cotemar.

The company has provided no further information on the cause of the accident, the condition of the injured workers or whether the fire has since been brought under control.

Four workers were killed in an explosion on the same platform last year, which regulators later found was caused by a corroded gas line.

The platform has the capacity to process around 40,000 bbl/d, separating oil from gas. It forms part of the Abkatun Pol Chuc complex, which in total produces around 300,000 bbl/d. It is located in the southern Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for the majority of the 2.3m bbl/d of crude oil produced by Pemex.

Pemex has suffered a series of fatal accidents in recent years, including two blasts at a refinery in northern Mexico in 2014, and an explosion at its headquarters in 2013.

In 2014, Mexico ended Pemex’s 76-year monopoly on oil production, opening the sector to foreign players. It was hoped the influx of investment and expertise would help modernise the country’s ageing assets, but the slump in oil prices has dampened expectations.