• Eroded pipeline in Ek Balam spilled 76 barrels a day, CEO says
• Pipe repairs halted July 7 to 10 to attend the platform blast

Maya Averbuch, and Amy Stillman, Bloomberg News

MEXICO CITY
EnergiesNet 07 17 2023

An oil spill from Petroleos Mexicanos in the Gulf of Mexico was due to erosion of a pipeline that was being replaced at the Ek Balam field and resulted in the loss of 1,368 barrels, according to its Chief Executive Officer Octavio Romero Oropeza. Romero dismissed media reports earlier this month that the spill was much bigger.

“The reality is that the eroded area of the pipeline that caused the hydrocarbon leak, according to the calculations of our specialists and considering the pipeline’s full operation, could cause a maximum cumulative volume of 1,368 barrels to be spilled over 18 days. That is to say, 76 barrels per day,” said Romero in a press conference in Mexico City on Wednesday.

Read More: Oil Spills Into Gulf of Mexico Near Site of Pemex Explosion

The leak was first detected July 3, but repairs to the pipe were suspended between July 7 and July 10 to attend to an explosion on the Nohoch-Alfa platform nearby, he said. Repairs to the oil duct ended on July 22 and that pipeline, along with others linked to the platform, will be replaced by August 15, he said.

Pemex has come under increasing scrutiny for its safety and environmental record after frequent accidents and explosions at its facilities. The leak is close to the site of the platform explosion in the Cantarell field that left two people dead and resulted in losses of about 100,000 barrels of oil a day. The fire on July 7 at the Nohoch Alfa platform processing center in the Cantarell oil and gas field is still being investigated.

 Read More:  A $15 Billion Oil Debt Spawns a Black Market in Mexican Fixers

— With Alex Vasquez

bloomberg.com 07 26 2023