Pemex Chemical Plant Explosion: 24 dead 136 wounded

Pemex has a really bad history of safety issues, chemical releases, and explosions. This one was pretty bad.



Thoughts and prayers for the families and the wounded workers.

It is the latest in a string of fatal accidents at Pemex facilities. In February a worker was killed in a fire at the same chemical plant and two workers were killed in a fire aboard a Gulf of Mexico oil platform. - See more at: www.bicmagazine.com...

BIC

Wednesday's explosion at the Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo facility in the southern state of Veracruz sent large plumes of dark smoke and toxic fumes across the region.



Javier Duarte, governor of the state of Veracruz, told CNN affiliate Televisa that the blast was felt about 10 kilometers (six miles) away. Emergency protocols were put in place, with surrounding municipalities evacuated and schools closed in others, officials said.

CNN

The more stuff costs, the more they cost cut, sacrificing safety for production to keep up.

a reply to: intrptr

100% correct. I've seen it first hand my whole career.

a reply to: quercusrex I've worked on an off shore rig run by Pemex when I was an ROV pilot for an offshore company a few years back. They are easily the most corrupt, inept, and criminal organization I've ever had direct contact with. We had to post watches on our control and work areas to keep the Pemex deck apes from stealing our tools. They constantly disregarded safety protocols, its amazing their rigs aren't exploding weekly.

Pemex CEO Jose Anaya had this to say in his statement about the explosion:

"We know there was a leak, what we don't know is why, but everything points to an accident," Mr Gonzalez Anaya said.

He shared an updated death toll at a press conference late on Thursday, adding that remediation of the site could take up to a year.

He denied the blast was tied to the economic problems of Pemex, which is trying to stem sliding output and slash costs as it faces the pressure of low crude prices.

source


The linked article has links to stories on last years rig fire that killed 5.

Expect a knee jerk spike in gas prices at the pump. Any excuse to *+*^ the consumers even though their is an oil glut.

www.cnbc.com...

originally posted by: olaru12
Expect a knee jerk spike in gas prices at the pump.

No, because this plant produced chloroethene not gasoline. But I expect the cost of plastic pipe will rise.

Edited.

originally posted by: ClownFish
I agree with both of you, but I was just thinking that another motive is that by going to another country, it makes it difficult to sue when one's life is ruined, if there is any life left.

One of the main reasons for offshoring/outsourcing is to move where there are little to no regulations (cheap labor, no environmental standards, no taxes, no inspections, etc.).

Well, according to the polution coming from those fires in the picture it's knackered all my efforts to recycle for the next 100 years. Where's Mr Gore when you need him.
Or is this polution good polution because it's made by a large company.
My sincere appologies for all who have suffered from the accident.

originally posted by: quercusrex

originally posted by: olaru12
Expect a knee jerk spike in gas prices at the pump.

No, because this plant produced chloroethene not gasoline. But I expect the cost of plastic pipe will rise.

What difference does that make. The oil speculators will use any and all tragedies to jack up the price of gasoline no matter how trivial. Energy companies have the consumer right where they want them and we're SOL.

We all know to expect a price hike during the traveling vacation season this summer. Even if their is an oil glut.

priceofoil.org...

No wonder they have a strangle hold on government.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Good point. My bad. I'll see if I can edit to remove the comment.

a reply to: charolais

One of the main reasons for offshoring/outsourcing is to move where there are little to no regulations (cheap labor, no environmental standards, no taxes, no inspections, etc.).

Yes. That was also a part of my point, but I inadvertently made it on the wrong thread.

Thanks.

a reply to: ClownFish

I will edit mine out so it does not look like I am breaking balls.

Brent was 45 bucks just now.......new high.twas already in an uptrend since Feb. 28..dang

originally posted by: crayzeed
Well, according to the polution coming from those fires in the picture it's knackered all my efforts to recycle for the next 100 years. Where's Mr Gore when you need him.
Or is this polution good polution because it's made by a large company.
My sincere appologies for all who have suffered from the accident.

No, it's good pollution because it's a state-owned, meaning nationalized, petroleum company. The only bad ones are the ones making those evil profits, but as we all know, if we nationalize it so that it doesn't have profit money anymore, it's pure as the wind-driven snow and incorruptible and would never have any cost cutting motives.

Right?

Are we seeing the first shots in the war to capture market share of the oil glut?
Is the CIA or some other black bag outfit going around sabotaging competitors oil production?
Did the Saudis hire Blackwater to make some grief for the competition?

originally posted by: bandersnatch
Is the CIA or some other black bag outfit going around sabotaging competitors oil production?

Pemex doesn't need any help to be dangerous.

But you have presented a very interesting theory.