The Gulf of Mexico Fire Explained
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How the Gulf of Mexico fire started
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Potential environmental Implications of the fire
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The need to hold companies accountable
A massive fire broke out on the ocean’s surface near a Pemex oil platform early morning on July 2. Footage from a helicopter capturing the sea of flames went viral online and drew attention to the dangers of offshore drilling. How did this happen, and what are the implications of it? Let’s dive deeper.
🚨 Incendio registrado en aguas del Golfo de México
A 400 metros de la plataforma Ku-Charly (dentro del Activo Integral de Producción Ku Maloob Zaap)
Una válvula de una línea submarina habría reventado y provocado el incendio
Esta fuera de control hace 8 horas pic.twitter.com/KceOTDU1kX
— Manuel Lopez San Martin (@MLopezSanMartin) July 2, 2021
What Went Down
The fire broke out in the southern region of the Gulf of Mexico called Ku-Maloob-Zaap around 5:15 am. The oil development area is one of Pemex’s most productive oil fields and can produce more than 700,000 barrels a day on average. According to an internal incident report, an electrical storm and heavy rains damaged essential machinery operating in underwater pipelines in the moments before the leak. The massive fire was eventually snuffed out after 5 hours. Firefighting boats used nitrogen to quell the flames.
Environmental Impact
While the “eye of fire” was undoubtedly a sight to behold, one has to wonder how this event could ever occur. While no injuries were reported, the fire calls into question the alarming problems of allowing oil companies such as Pemex to drill fossil fuels from the ocean. A statement by Pemex said that “there was no oil spill and the immediate action taken to control the surface fire avoided environmental damage,” but this drew a slew of criticism from environmental groups and activists. Pemex has not carried out any investigations into the environmental impacts of this incident at this time.
This fire is only one event in a string of incidents that have occurred at Pemex. Consumers need to hold companies accountable to lessen the environmental damage that production can cause. That is why at Physis, we care about the importance of tracking company ESG goals so that consumers and businesses know they are putting their money towards meaningful change. Our cutting-edge platform allows investors to exclude certain companies based on where they stand on relevant sustainability benchmarks. Sign up today to try out our platform!
References:
‘Eye of fire’ in Mexican waters snuffed out