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Oil Disaster Imminent in Mexico
Pemex, the national oil company of Mexico, estimate they will need a further $3 billion for pipeline repairs. The situation is so bad that over 15,000 miles of pipeline are past their 'sell-by-date'. Initially designed to last 30 years, much of the infrastructure was built when the Cantarell oil field was opened in the mid 1970s. As a result, much of the 33,000 mile network of pipes is severely corroded. Pipeline closures are imminent, possibly cutting off fuel supplies to large chunks of the Mexican population.
Kab 121 Oil Disaster
On 23rd October 2007 during stormy high seas, 20 miles off the coast of Mexico, the drilling rig Usumacinta smashed into the boom and valve assembly of the Kab 121 platform. The platform was severely damaged and started to haemorrhage crude oil at a rapid rate (430 barrels a day) as well as leaking toxic flammable hydrogen sulphide clouds. The Eighty five workers on the platform conducted an emergency evacuation into lifeboats, but because of the mountainous seas many boats were swamped and some broke: 63 had to be plucked from the water; 22 died. If the platform had been further out to sea the body count would have been much higher.
By the middle of November the Kab 121 had spilt over 13,000 barrels of oil and the rescue workers were struggling to get the oil slicks and regular fires under control. The heat had buckled the metal structure of the platform so much that it was in danger of complete collapse. During the salvage operation 15 rescue workers had to be treated for hypothermia, dehydration and shock. In total, it took 55 days to get the ailing platform under control with its sporadic clouds of fire and slicks of oil. It took six boats, continuously pumping water, to get the blaze under control. It was only recently, on 17th December 2007, they were able to pump specialised cement down the valve assembly to prevent any more oil spillage.
Events such as these are becoming more commonplace due to Pemex’s ageing infrastructure. Since 2004 there have been 30 serious accidents at a variety of sites: Tabasco, Veracruz, Guanajuato, Tlaxcala and Campeche. There are over 100 drilling platforms alone in Campeche supporting 13,500 workers. The likelihood of further accidents such as these will only increase.
Fears are that the 13,000 plus barrels of oil from the Kab 121 will find their way onto the Tabasco coastline and into Campeche Sound itself. So far, four miles of the coastline have been affected with 30 tons of contaminated sand removed. Depending on currents, tides and weather conditions, it might not be until January that any of the slicks cross the 20 miles to shore. If the slicks reach shore then it will certainly affect the fishing industry, aquatic ecosystems and work its way through the food chain. Towns such as Centla and Nuevo Campechito fear the worst.
In the same week of the Kab 121 disaster there were two other spills from Pemex installations. One of them was a cracked pipeline at Veracruz that spilt 7,000 barrels into the Jaltepec, Chiquito and Coatzacoalcos Rivers extending for over 200 km down the coastline. The slick endangered the coastal cities of Coatzacoalcos, Minatitlan, Jaltipan, Texistepec and Jesus Caranza, leaving them with no clean water.
The environmental crisis in the Mexican oil industry shows no signs of abating until there is wholesale renewal of the ageing infrastructure.
