Refinery Safety – Fire breaks out at Mexico oil refinery

Photo courtesy KWQC Davenport IA

A massive fire broke out at the partially flooded Pemex Salina Cruz oil refinery in southern Mexico on Wednesday, injuring nine people and forcing the evacuation of over 500 people from homes around the plant.

The refinery’s operations had been suspended Tuesday due to heavy rains from former Tropical Storm Calvin.  The company said the fire broke out after the floodwaters caused waste containment ponds to overflow, spreading oil around the plant.  Pemex said in a statement that the spilled oil “reached a point of ignition as a result of the flooding, sparking a fire.”

Read more about this incident here.

Worker safety and environmental protection are always important concepts at AIS where we strive to create software products for the oil & gas industry that save time, lives and money.