The fire on Sunday that killed at least five workers on an offshore platform operated by Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) may have started due to a gas leak, said the company’s CEO, Octavio Romero. Six workers were injured and two are missing, although remains have now been found in a control room on the platform.
Located in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, the platform was undergoing maintenance work at the time of the fire. A full analysis will be conducted to determine if a gas leak during that work led to the blaze, which shut down oil production of 421,000 barrels per day (bpd), about 25% of Mexico’s total production.
Pemex expects to resume full production on the site by August 30.
