Two dead in fire from waste spill at Mexico’s biggest Pemex oil refinery By Reuters

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Two workers died and another was injured after a fire broke out at the weekend at the largest domestic refinery owned and operated by Mexican state oil company Pemex, a company official said on Monday.

The fire broke out Saturday at the Salina Cruz refinery in southern Oaxaca state, plant manager Arturo Recio told reporters, explaining that a storm caused drains filled with oily waste to overflow into alleys inside the complex.

A 21-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man working for Pemex contractors died and another man was hospitalized, Recio said.

He said work at the main distillery and a petrol plant had been halted to avoid further damage, but that none of the other units were affected. Recio added that cleanup and repairs are ongoing.

The refinery’s processing capacity is 330,000 barrels per day, and it is currently operating at approximately 70% of its capacity. The refinery was operating normally after the fire, a Pemex source said.

Local media reported that the incident started in the inner courtyards of the refinery, near large factories, and that the fire was extinguished by company workers and civil protection.