Pemex Reports Second Oil Spill at Dos Bocas Refinery and Larger Offshore Release

State-owned oil company Pemex said Monday that it had recovered about 549,000 liters of crude oil spilled over the weekend at its 340,000-b/d Dos Bocas refinery in Tabasco state. The company said it was continuing work to contain and clean up the discharge, which came less than a week after another spill led to a fatal fire outside the facility.

Pemex said it had deployed more than 50 marine barriers and over 1,000 oleophilic booms to contain the crude.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday described the event as “relatively minor,” compared with an offshore spill in early March that has affected stretches of the country’s Gulf Coast.

The Gulf of Mexico Reef Corridor Network, a coalition of about 50 local organizations and communities from affected states, said the spill off Veracruz has affected about 391 miles of coastline and extends into Tabasco state.

“Beyond the urgent and essential cleanup, additional emergency response actions are required, which are the responsibility of authorities and companies, as environmental groups have pointed out,” the group said in a weekend statement.

The network reported 51 sites were contaminated by the spill, including 42 in Veracruz and nine in Tabasco.

In addition, environmental organization Greenpeace warned on Monday that the spill could reach the coasts of Campeche and Yucatán if containment measures aren’t implemented.

Sheinbaum has denied Pemex was the source of this spill, adding that environmental and prosecutorial authorities are investigating who is at fault and to determine potential financial and criminal charges.

Sheinbaum, Pemex Chief Executive Víctor Rodríguez Padilla and Mexico’s Environmental Agency ASEA head Andrea González visited the area on Monday as authorities continue efforts to contain and clean up both incidents.

Pemex said it had collected 94.7 metric tons of hydrocarbon-contaminated waste from beaches in Veracruz and Tabasco, adding that the cleanup work was 88% complete. Local residents, however, have called for additional actions, saying the spill has also affected fishing in the area and killed marine life.

The weekend spill at Dos Bocas comes after fuel leaked from the refinery last week and ignited, killing five workers.

Reporting by José Luis Adriano, jadriano@opisnet.com; Editing by Karla Omaña, komana@opisnet.com; and Jeffrey Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com