Authors: David Alire Garcia and Erwin Seba
MEXICO CITY/HOUSTON (Reuters) – The Pemex oil refinery in Deer Park, near Houston, released 43,500 pounds of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide in more than seven hours in a deadly accident, according to information disclosed by a Mexican state-owned company to a Texas regulator. at the beginning of the week.
Two contract workers were killed and 35 others injured while working on a refinery unit in Thursday’s accident.
The Oct. 10 spill lasted 7 hours and 40 minutes, according to Pemex’s preliminary report to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. During the incident, hydrogen sulfide emissions exceeded more than 800 times the hourly hazardous gas emission limit of 6.89 pounds per hour.
The Texas regulator’s data is dated Oct. 11.
The refinery, which has a capacity to process crude oil of 312,500 barrels per day, will operate at “low capacity” next weekend as Pemex investigates the cause of the leak, the company said in a statement on Friday.
Buzbee’s Houston-based law firm said it was retained by “several families impacted by this terrible event.”
The Pemex management board has been managing the facility for almost three years.
According to people familiar with the matter, work was underway at the sulfur recovery facility at the time of the fatal discharge.
The Deer Park refinery is a major supplier of motor fuels to Mexico, where the government is trying to reduce dependence on gasoline and diesel imports from non-Pemex refineries in a move toward greater energy self-sufficiency.
Newly appointed Pemex CEO Victor Rodriguez told reporters Friday morning that thirteen workers remained in hospital after being exposed to the leak, while Mexico’s energy minister said at the same briefing that she expected the plant to return to normal operations later Friday.
However, in its latest statement, the company backed away from these expectations.
“The refinery continues to operate under stable conditions at low levels, which will be maintained through the weekend as long as areas can be accessed for appropriate inspections,” the company said in its Friday release. night statement.
Rodriguez, who took over earlier this month, noted Friday that three or four units at the refinery had been shut down due to the leak.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), which investigates industrial accidents and makes recommendations to prevent such incidents in the future, also launched an investigation into what it called a “very serious incident.”
On Friday, CSB said investigators were expected to arrive at the refinery on Saturday.
Deer Park was operated for decades by oil company Shell (LON :), but in early 2022 Pemex took full ownership of the refinery, acquiring Shell’s 50% stake in the long-standing joint venture.
In 2021, Shell disclosed that it had sold its stake in Deer Park to Pemex for approximately $596 million.
Pemex’s domestic refineries have suffered grave accidents for years, including explosions and fires that have resulted in deaths in Mexico.
