PEMEX oil well leak
The PEMEX oil well leak refers to a catastrophic blowout that occurred on June 3, 1979, at the Ixtoc I drilling site in the Gulf of Mexico. This incident resulted in the release of approximately three million barrels of oil over a nine-month period, marking it as one of the largest oil spills in history. The blowout happened when the drilling operation accidentally intersected a high-pressure gas pocket, leading to an explosion that destroyed the drilling rig and released a massive oil slick covering nearly 65,000 square kilometers. The environmental impact was severe, devastating Mexico's shrimping industry and posing significant threats to marine life, including endangered sea turtles.
Efforts to contain the spill included the deployment of floating barriers and the drilling of relief wells, alongside interventions from oil industry experts. Despite various strategies to mitigate the disaster, it took nearly a year to successfully cap the well, with the final sealing completed on March 22, 1980. The event raised serious concerns regarding the safety practices of PEMEX, the state-owned oil company, and prompted widespread scrutiny of Mexico's oil policies. The repercussions of the spill not only affected the local ecosystem but also posed risks to coastal tourism, highlighting the broader implications of industrial accidents on environmental and economic sustainability.
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PEMEX oil well leak
THE EVENT: Blowout in an oil drilling well in the Gulf of Mexico that resulted in the spilling of some three million barrels of oil into the sea
DATE: June 3, 1979
The oil pollution that resulted from the PEMEX oil well blowout and the nine-month-long spillage of oil that followed destroyed Mexico’s shrimping industry and threatened other marine life as well as the tourist industry of coastal areas in the Gulf of Mexico.
On June 3, 1979, an offshore oil operation in the Gulf of Mexico drilled into a high-pressure gas pocket, causing a blowout that ignited the oil well. The accident produced a massive oil slick nearly 65,000 square kilometers (25,000 square miles) in area. According to a July, 1979, issue of the Christian Science Monitor, at the time it was considered not only “the world’s worst from an oil well, but also the worst spill ever.” The runaway well, Ixtoc I, belonged to Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the Mexican state-owned oil company. The exploratory well was being drilled in the Gulf of Campeche off the Yucatán Peninsula, a low-lying limestone tableland that separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico.
Natural gas escaping from the well ignited and destroyed the $22 million drilling rig. The that issued from the damaged well polluted waters in the region and ruined much of Mexico’s shrimping industry. The toxic effects of the crude oil also threatened the of Atlantic sea turtles that nest along the Mexican coast, as the young of this normally swim out to seaweed beds after they hatch.
The oil slick further posed a threat to certain regions along the Texas coast, including the Padre Island National Seashore area and resort beaches such as Galveston, Texas. As a preventive measure, floating booms and other types of barriers were placed as shields for bays and estuaries along the south Texas coast by the Department of Texas Water Resources. The south Texas beaches escaped extensive damage; only isolated patches of diluted oil reached the Texas coastline. Some Texas beaches were littered with nontoxic, pancakelike hydrocarbon globs that resembled chocolate mousse.
Immediately after the blowout, PEMEX began drilling relief wells, named Ixtoc I-A and I-B, in an attempt to intersect the runaway well and divert the escaping oil. Later, the famous oil-field troubleshooter Paul “Red” Adair and his crew were called in to cap the well. They succeeded in temporarily shutting the well down in late June, but it burst out again shortly thereafter. Over the next several months steel balls, lead balls, and gelatin were pumped down the well in repeated attempts to check or stop the oil flow. Although most of the balls that were first pumped in were expelled, a later injection of 108,000 balls reportedly reduced the flow of oil from 20,000 to 10,000 barrels per day on October 12. Meanwhile, several different organizations, including Oil Mop Incorporated and Shell Oil, were using a variety of equipment in attempts to skim oil from the ocean surface at or near the well site.
Ixtoc I-A and I-B ultimately injected drilling mud, water, and cement into the rock and base of the well, which cut off flow. The well was finally blocked with three cement plugs on March 22, 1980.
The Ixtoc I and other wells drilled in the Gulf of Campeche are evidence of the presence of large quantities of oil in this offshore region. However, the disastrous blowout of Ixtoc I led to questions about PEMEX’s credibility as a company, as well as about Mexico’s entire oil policy.
Bibliography
Eschebacher, Stefanie and Adriana Barrera. "Mexico's Pemex Admits Offshore Oil Spill, Downplays Size and Impact." Reuters, 26 July 2023, www.reuters.com/business/environment/mexicos-pemex-says-oil-spill-gulf-mexico-fixed-by-july-10-2023-07-26/. Accessed 21 July 2024.
Fingas, Merv. The Basics of Oil Spill Cleanup. 2d ed. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 2001.
Ornitz, Barbara E., and Michael A. Champ. Oil Spills First Principles: Prevention and Best Response. New York: Elsevier, 2002.