Posted on 02/24/2023 7:36:27 PM PST by SeekAndFind
PEMEX
You might say Mexican state-owned petroleum company Pemex had a bad day Thursday. As Reuters reported, there were fires at three different facilities owned by the company — two in Mexico and one in Texas. And while there are still some unknowns, in an update, the wire service gives what details are known:
(Reuters) – A Thursday night fire at Pemex’s 312,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Deer Park, Texas refinery broke out in a crude distillation unit (CDU), said people familiar with plant operations.
The sources did not know which of two Deer Park CDUs were hit by fire. The plant has a 270,000-bpd and 70,000-bpd CDU, which break down crude oil into feedstocks for all other refining units.
Pemex was assessing on Friday the damage to the refinery from the fire, the sources said.
The Deer Park fire was one of three to strike Pemex facilities in Mexico and the United States on Thursday.
Five people were unaccounted for in a blaze a [sic] storage facility in the Mexican state of Veracruz that also sent three people to a hospital, while a separate fire at its Minatitlan refinery, also in Veracruz, was under control after injuring five people.
With the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and a spate of other industrial accidents/spills recently, you’d be forgiven if, perhaps, your thoughts wandered to the conspiratorial.
But there may be an couple simple explanations that don’t require anyone to put on a tin foil hat. One is that this is nothing new for Pemex. In July 2021, my colleague Nick Arama wrote about an amazing sight in the Gulf of Mexico — an “eye of fire” in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico near the Yucatan peninsula — which, it turned out, had a terrible cause.
🚨 Sobre el incendio registrado en aguas del Golfo de México, en la Sonda de Campeche, a unos metros de la plataforma Ku-Charly (dentro del Activo Integral de Producción Ku Maloob Zaap)
Tres barcos han apoyado para sofocar las llamas pic.twitter.com/thIOl8PLQo
— Manuel Lopez San Martin (@MLopezSanMartin) July 2, 2021
Arama wrote:
A pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico off the Yucatan peninsula ruptured and caused a massive fire in the water Friday. The incident has now gone viral around the world because of the stunning visuals, showing an “eye of fire” in the water, right next to an oil platform, looking like molten lava. The fire began in an underwater pipeline connected to the platform at Pemex’s Ku Maloob Zaap oil facility.
It appears Pemex has a bad track record on safety issues, as Arama also shared:
Pemex also has a long history of “major industrial accidents at its facilities,” according to Reuters.
But, there could be another simple explanation: in at least one previous incident involving Pemex, in 2010, authorities found that the explosion of one of their pipelines was caused by thieves trying to steal oil.
Marco Ugarte
The AP caption on the above image reads:
Firefighters extend a hose through the street as they respond to an oil pipeline explosion in San Martin Texmelucan, Mexico, Sunday Dec. 19, 2010. An oil pipeline operated by Mexico’s state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, exploded early Sunday when thieves were attempting to steal oil, killing at least 27 people, injuring at least 52 people and scorching more than 115 homes, authorities said.
CNN reported in an update that the theft attempt might be connected to powerful drug cartels:
The cause of Sunday’s explosion in San Martin Texmelucan, in Puebla state, was under investigation, but preliminary reports pointed to the illegal extraction of oil from the pipe, said Laura Gurza, coordinator for civil protection in Puebla.
…
Oil theft has been a persistent problem for Pemex, and has been on the rise since President Felipe Calderon took office. A Washington Post investigation found that drug cartels were increasingly diversifying into other areas, including oil theft, to the tune of more than $1 billion in a two-year period.
Right now, it isn’t clear what caused the recent fires. We’ll keep you posted.
Just like in Nigeria!
SEE EYE AAAAA
Oh boy, FOR ME there isn’t enough tinfoil folks.
Then again, FOR US, we have previously been outlining the “watch Mexico in 2023” oil production and energy issue for several months now.
Three oil refinery fires at three different facilities on the same day… isn’t good. Because it just seems to be too coincidental to be coincidental.
MEXICO CITY, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Three fires broke out on Thursday at different facilities in Mexico and the United States operated by state-owned Mexican oil company Pemex, leaving five missing and eight others injured as of Thursday evening. (read more)
Making tinfoil matters worse, I previously emphasized,
“The U.S. and Canada are going to push every possible political pressure point in order to force Mexico to change energy policy. The stakes are high. It is going to be remarkable to watch what happens as this battle takes place. Watch Mexico in 2023.” {LINK}
A few weeks later, with more data assembled, I added,
“I’m not talking about little threats, or ordinary economic pressure points; watch closely how the U.S threats are established. The ideologues around Joe Biden will seek to destroy AMLO if he does not go along with the energy change effort. {LINK}
The origin of the issue traces back to July of 2022, when Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador visited the White House {Go Deep}.
During a jaw dropping statement delivered publicly from the Oval Office, AMLO told Joe Biden he was not going to join the U.S. and Canada in shutting down oil use and refining capacity for low cost gasoline:
July 13, 2022 – […] AMLO: “Therefore, we decided that while we’re waiting for prices of gasoline to go down in the United States — and I hope that Congress approves or passes your proposal, Mr. President —
PRESIDENT BIDEN: It has gone down for 30 days in a row. (Laughs.)
PRESIDENT LÓPEZ OBRADOR: (As interpreted.) — of lowering — lowering prices, yes. That’s it.
In the meantime, while we’re waiting for prices to go down, we have decided that it was necessary for us to allow Americans who live close to the borderline so that they could go and get their gasoline on the Mexican side at lower prices.
And right now, a lot of the drivers — a lot of the Americans — are going to Mexico, to the Mexican border, to get their gasoline.
However, we could increase our inventories immediately. We are committed to guaranteeing twice as much supply of fuel. That would be considerable support.
Right now, a gallon of regular costs $4.78 average on this side of the border. And in our territory, $3.12.
Let me clarify something, and I also want to take advantage of this opportunity to thank you, Mr. President. Most of this gasoline, we are producing it in the Pemex refinery that you allowed us to buy in Deer Park, Texas. (read more)
The nub of it is… Mexico was not going to permit gasoline prices to skyrocket as they have done in the U.S. due to the policies of Joe Biden. This creates a problem.
The climate change and energy ideologues within the Biden administration are doing everything within their power to raise energy prices, specifically oil and gasoline. This is part of the strategy to make the green new deal energy programs hold financial viability as an alternative.
Part of the policy is to drain the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve, then limit -by regulation- current oil exploration (deny leases), and further block expansion of oil refineries in the U.S (cancel permits).
Mexican President AMLO was not playing that game. He could see what the Biden administration was doing. AMLO read his prepared statement in the oval office to put a hard no on his participation. He was going to continue oil production and increased oil refinery development in order to keep gasoline prices low. Again, this put AMLO on the wrong side of Team Windmill.
We warned that the stakes in this energy showdown were so severe nothing would be off the table of potential.
Continuing to apply the pressure, during the North American Leadership Summit, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm tweeted:
There has been a full court press toward Mexico to change their energy policy specifically around oil development and gasoline manufacturing.
Suddenly, against this backdrop, and with our warnings as a guidepost… THIS HAPPENS:
MEXICO CITY, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Three fires broke out on Thursday at different facilities in Mexico and the United States operated by state-owned Mexican oil company Pemex, leaving five missing and eight others injured as of Thursday evening.
Five people were unaccounted for after a fire at a storage facility in the state of Veracruz that had sent three others to a hospital, the company said in a statement.
The cause of that fire, which had been put out, had not yet been determined, the company added.
Pemex confirmed in a later statement on Thursday evening that a separate fire at its Minatitlan refinery, also in Veracruz, was under control after injuring five people.
That fire had not interrupted the refinery’s operations, Pemex said, adding that “it is presumed that the possible cause of the fire was product runoff on a hot surface.”
A third fire was also reported Thursday by a community alert at a unit at Pemex’s Deer Park, Texas, oil refinery. It later updated with an all-clear notification. (more)
Now, who or what would hold the motive to see oil production and gasoline refining in Mexico targeted?
There were three separate fires in three different oil refineries owned by the same company, Pemex. All in one day.
What is going on???— Sara Gonzales (@SaraGonzalesTX) February 24, 2023
Something besides terrorism?
Never attribute to conspiracy or malice that which can be explained by incompetence.
CC
If that is indeed the cause then we are doomed, and might as well accept that fact. While incompetence defines this administration, it certainly is a real possibility though.
Stolen elections have dire consequences.
WEF in action? Oh, what, you said "besides".
It’s a government owned and operated company. And at the best of times the Mexican government isn’t known for its efficiency or competence.
FWIW
CC
Yes it is a Mexican owned company, but one of the facilities is in the Houston area. They have to meet state and local safety standards.
Yup, same difference….
I was speaking about the entire collection of these happenings as a whole, but yes Mexico is an exception. 🙂
It has been a little over a year since the deer park facility changed hands to pemex from Shell.
All the employees are from before the Shell transfer.
There had not been enough time for the culture and policy to have changed. It’s still business as before..... until the current avenged expires.....
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