an oil spill at sea hits the beaches

2023-08-02 23:09:52
The offshore oil rig that caught fire in Pemex’s Cantarell field, in the Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, July 7, 2023. MEXICO CITY PETROLEOS MEXICANOS/ REUTERS

The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, denounced by several NGOs and minimized by the state oil company Pemex, affected the Mexican coast and beaches, local authorities announced on Wednesday (August 2nd). “It was more than 100 square kilometers of oil at sea, which was dispersed by currents along all the beaches in the gulf”, said the assistant prosecutor for crimes against the environment of the state of Campeche (East), Alejandro Brown Gantus. He said he feared “serious environmental damage”during this interview in a video from Agence France-Presse (AFP) recorded on Tuesday.

Environmental activists and residents have cleaned up about 500 meters of beach in the state of Campeche in the past few days, where the water carries black spots, AFP noted. The oil spill affected the coasts of four eastern and southeastern states (Campeche, Tabasco, Tamaulipas and Veracruz), the news site ofThe country. No presence of oil was mentioned around Cancun and its surroundings, the most touristic zone of Mexico, which is higher in the Yucatan peninsula.

“Full Opacity”

Several organizations, including Greenpeace, had denounced on July 18 an oil leak covering 400 square kilometers in the Gulf of Mexico. The leak was located near the oil rig where an explosion followed by a fire killed two workers in early July. The leak, confirmed by satellite images, according to NGOs, began around July 4, they said in a statement, criticizing “full opacity” authorities around this oil leak.

The latter is linked to natural emanations of hydrocarbons at sea, replied the state oil company Pemex, which disputes the versions published in the press. Its managing director, Octavio Romero, admitted that a leak had been detected on July 3 in the area of ​​the explosion that occurred on the gas exploitation platform. The leak was plugged on July 22, he said.

The World with AFP