Mexico’s state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has shut-in three units at its 320,000 bbl/d Deer Park refinery in Harris County, Texas, after an acid gas leak on Oct. 10 left two workers dead.
As a result of the accident, Pemex shuttered its Deer Park refinery’s coker, catalytic and distillation units, Pemex General Director Víctor Rodríguez Padilla said Oct. 11 during a press conference in Mexico City with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Deer Park has two distillation units. The other continues to operate. Operations at the adjacent petrochemical plant owned by Shell Plc weren’t impacted by the accident, Padilla said.
“Once the final analysis of the cause of the accident is finalized, we will rapidly ramp-up the refinery,” Padilla said.
Padilla said the Deer Park refinery normally operates at around 310,000 bbl/d to 320,000 bbl/d.
Deer Park fatalities
The Deer Park refinery accident injured 35 workers, 13 of whom were hospitalized. Two contract maintenance workers died as a result of the accident, Padilla said during the press conference.
Pemex doesn’t have any Mexican nationals working at the Deer Park refinery, Padilla said.
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Pemex’s Flaring Problem Not Going Away
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) said that it will “launch an investigation into the fatal release of hydrogen sulfide at Pemex’s Deer Park refinery,” according to an Oct. 11 press release.
“This is a very serious incident that caused multiple fatalities and injuries and potentially put the surrounding community at risk,” CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said.
Pemex’ Deer Park refinery is located about 18 miles east of Houston. The accident prompted a shelter-in-place order for two neighboring cities, the CSB said. Additionally, a portion of Texas State Highway 225 was temporarily closed.
Mexico City-based Pemex owns and operates six refineries in Mexico: Cadereyta, Madero, Minatitlán, Salamanca, Salina Cruz and Tula. The six refineries have a reported atmospheric distillation capacity of around 1.64 MMbbl/d, according to Pemex.
The 340,000-bbl/d Olmeca refinery Dos Bocas will boost Pemex’s national refining system to seven when it completes its ramp-up in 2025.
Pemex, through its subsidiary P.M.I. Services North America, also owns outright the refinery in Deer Park. Pemex paid $596 million in 2021 to buy out Shell’s interest in the Deer Park refinery.
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