The fire started 150 meters from a drilling platform at the Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil production facility in the Gulf of Mexico. On Twitter, the large orange bubbling mass in the water is called a spiral of fire.
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‘No oil leaked’
According to state oil company Pemex, there were no injuries and no people had to be evacuated. Work on the drilling platform has resumed and the incident is under investigation, the company said. The director of the Mexican energy and environment agency Asea, Angel Carrizales, says no oil has been leaked.
Pemex is one of the most indebted energy companies in the world. Due to a lack of investment in modern technology, oil production in Mexico has been declining steadily for years. Former Pemex boss Emilio Lozoya has been charged with corruption and extradited from Spain to Mexico in July last year.
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Fire in water, how is that possible?
Brian Verhoeven of Buienradar thinks the most likely scenario is that the gas has bubbled up to the water’s surface. “There must have been an ignition there, for example a spark from the drilling platform or a lightning strike on the water.” That’s how the fire started. “And if new gas is added all the time, the fire will continue.”
The fire could be extinguished by extinguishing it with fine mist. In this way the oxygen could be taken away from the fire. The gas pipeline is also closed.
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