Pemex Oil Refinery Still Operating After Explosions: Source

Pemex Oil Refinery Still Operating After Explosions: Source
A file photo of workers at Mexico's state-owned oil company PEMEX, in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 30, 2013. Omar Torres/AFP/Getty Images
Reuters
Updated:

MEXICO CITY—Two gas explosions struck an oil refinery belonging to Mexican state oil company Pemex on Thursday, the governor of northern Nuevo Leon state said, but a Pemex source said the incident did affect the plant’s operations.

Governor Jaime Rodriguez said in a post on Twitter that the explosions were due to an accumulation of gas, adding that five people suffered light injuries and that the individuals were being transported to a local hospital for medical care.

It was not clear how much damage was sustained by the Caderyta refinery.

A Pemex source told Reuters that the facility with a crude processing capacity of 275,000 barrels per day remained online. The source cast doubt on Rodriguez’s post, saying the accident occurred in a drain and was caused by an unspecified fluid reaction.

Pemex’s press office did not respond to a request for comment.

By Sharay Angulo and Ana Isabel Martinez