¿Sabotage?: three fires at Pemex facilities in the U.S. and Mexico

A new environmental catastrophe is causing alarm in the United States and Mexico after three unusual and almost simultaneous fires broke out at the facilities of Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex. The causes are not yet known, although investigators do not rule out sabotage or lack of maintenance at the facilities.

On Thursday, February 23, a fire broke out in a crude oil distillation unit at Pemex's Deer Park refinery in Texas, while the other two fires occurred in Veracruz, leaving eight people injured, five workers missing and one dead.

While authorities investigate the causes of the fire in Texas, the oil company reported that "it is presumed" that the explosions in Veracruz were caused by possible "product runoff on a hot surface".

In addition, earlier this week, at least two people died after a vehicle crash inside a Pemex refinery in the Mexican state of Hidalgo.

So far there is no clarity around what caused the incidents; however, hypotheses ranging from the possibility of sabotage to lack of maintenance by the Mexican government are beginning to emerge.

What happened in Veracruz?

The first explosion recorded in Veracruz occurred in the process plant called Combinada Maya at the Lázaro Cárdenas Refinery in Minatitlán, which produces 285,000 barrels of oil per day.

According to the Mexican governmental agency of Civil Protection, the fire was controlled and the activation of external emergency services was not necessary. Hours later, around 3:40 p.m., a new explosion triggered a fire at the Tuzandepetl crude oil storage center.

According to Pemex, the fire started in a drilling rig working in Tuzandepetl-331 Cavity as part of a rehabilitation project at the facility.

What happened in Houston, Texas?

Pemex's year-old Deer Park refinery reported a fire inside one of its units. The document from the Environmental Liability Representative at Deer Park states that the incident is being handled within the confines of this facility.

"At this time, we are not aware of an impact on the community or our industrial neighbors," he added.

While Pemex has said that operations at its Minatitlán and Deer Park refineries are back to normal, the series of incidents called into question the safety measures of the oil company. This is not the first time that the company has experienced this type of incident.