Pemex Dos Bocas refinery fire is the second to occur since March
MEXICO CITY - On Thursday, a fire broke out at a petroleum coke storage facility at?Pemex Dos Bocas?refinery, in southern?Mexico. This is the second fire at this site in less than a week.
The company stated that there had been no reports of injuries and that emergency services were?deployed to the scene. The company did not specify the cause or extent of damage.
Social media footage?showed a large fireball and billowing black smoke emerging from the site. I was unable to independently confirm the images.
Pemex reported that the incident occurred after a fire broke out around the perimeter of the refinery on March 17, killing five people.
The refinery, also known as Olmeca in Gulf port Dos Bocas, is one of Mexico's biggest and cost more than twice the original budget at $21 billion.
The project, which was a flagship of the former president Andres Manuel Obrador and intended to 'help Mexico reduce its dependency on imported fuel' has had a?history of operational problems?and has not met the production targets?promised at his inauguration in 2020.
The first operations began in 2024.
The refinery produced 205,000 barrels of crude oil per day in January. It also produced 77,520 barrels of gasoline and 78,500 barrels of diesel. Its maximum processing capability is 340,000 barrels per day (bpd), which, according to the Lopez Obrador government, will ensure "energy independence." (Reporting and editing by Inigo Alexandre, Daina Beth Sooloard)
(source: Reuters)
