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Pemex News

10 Aug 2023

Cuban Oil Tankers Becoming Regular Visitors to Mexican Ports

Cuba has begun using its own tankers to ramp up crude imports from Mexico, which in the second quarter surpassed Russia as a key oil provider to the fuel-thirsty island, according to vessel monitoring data.Following days-long lines to fill drivers' tanks and power blackouts, the communist-run nation saddled with harsh U.S. economic sanctions has broadened its sources of oil imports in a move to ease fuel scarcity, replenish stocks and reduce dependence on its traditional and largest supplier, Venezuela. Washington has also sanctioned Venezuela's oil industry since 2019 over election-fraud claims.Mexico has emerged as a top provider, sending oil on a vessel owned by state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and ships managed by Cuba.

08 Jul 2023

VIDEO: Two Dead, One Missing after Fire Tears through Pemex Offshore Oil Platform

Credit: Pemex

Two workers died and another remained missing after a raging fire broke out early on Friday morning at an offshore platform run by Mexican state oil company Pemex just off the southern edge of the Gulf of Mexico.In posts on Twitter, Pemex said it had accounted for all other workers and said oil production had taken a major hit from the blaze.Video circulating on social media showed the massive platform and its tangle of pipelines engulfed in flames as nearby boats sought to douse the fire with hoses.The platform operates in the company's Cantarell Field…

04 Aug 2022

Rocketing Tanker Freight Rates Send Mexico's Fuel Costs Soaring

© scandamerican / Adobe Stock

High rates worldwide for moving oil are driving up Mexico’s fuel costs as importers face tanker fees on North America’s busiest maritime route that are more than double levels seen in recent years, traders and shippers said.On routes to Mexico, the extra costs have added price volatility to an otherwise stable freight market, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and people familiar with the matter.The rates are the latest blow to state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, which controls the bulk of fuel imports later sold at subsidized retail prices.

24 Aug 2021

Five Dead, Six Injured in Pemex Offshore Platform Fire

Illustration only -  A platform in the Gulf of Mexico - Credit: Quimey/AdobeStock

Five workers were killed and six injured in Sunday's fire on an offshore platform in the southern Gulf of Mexico operated by Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) that cut about a quarter of Mexico's oil production, the company said on Monday.The fire broke out as crews were performing maintenance on the platform, and a search for missing workers continues, Pemex Chief Executive Octavio Romero told a news conference.The platform remains out of operation, with about 421,000 barrels per day of oil lost and 125 wells offline, he said.

24 Aug 2021

One Dead, Five Missing as Fire Erupts on Pemex Offshore Platform

For Illustration; Pemex's platforms offshore Mexico - Image by BoH/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 3.0

One person died and five went missing after a fire broke out Sunday on a Pemex offshore platform in the Campeche Bay, Mexico.The fire broke out at the E-Ku-A2 platform at Pemex's Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil field at 3:10 pm Sunday and was brought under control an hour later.Pemex said that one person died, six people were injured, and five went missing. Pemex said it was conducting a search and rescue operation, as well as working damage assessment and stabilization of the integrity of…

27 Jul 2021

Humanitarian Aid: Mexico Sends Fuel Tanker to Cuba

A diesel cargo sent by Mexico's state-run Pemex [was] due to arrive in Cuba's Havana port on Monday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and sources, after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador promised humanitarian aid to the Communist-run island, [Reuters reported Monday.]The Jose Maria Morelos II, a tanker owned and managed by a Pemex unit, is on its way to the Caribbean island after Mexico's left-leaning government last week announced it would send two humanitarian shipments, including food and diesel, to Cuba.Authorities in Havana have long said that a decades-old U.S. embargo on Cuba has caused widespread hardship on the island, where thousands took to the streets this month in protests.

23 Aug 2021

VIDEO: 'Eye of fire' Near Offshore Platform in Mexico Extinguished

Photo / Screenshot from video originally shared by Manuel Lopez San Martin on Twitter

A fire on the ocean surface west of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula early on Friday has been extinguished, state oil company Pemex said, blaming a gas leak from an underwater pipeline for sparking the blaze captured in videos that went viral.Bright orange flames jumping out of water resembling molten lava was dubbed an "eye of fire" on social media due to the blaze's circular shape, as it raged a short distance from a Pemex oil platform.The fire took more than five hours to fully put out…

16 Jun 2021

BHP Taps McDermott for GoM Subsea Installation

Credit: McDermott

Offshore installation company McDermott has won a contract with oil firm BHP for a marine installation campaign for the Shenzi Subsea Multiphase Pumping Project (SSMPP) in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.The project is located around 138 miles (222 kilometers) offshore in the Gulf of Mexico at a water depth of 4,400 feet (1341 meters)."We look forward to continuing our partnership with BHP through this latest contract award," said Mark Coscio, Senior Vice President for McDermott's North, Central, and South America region.

15 Mar 2021

Five Golden Rules for Virus Protection Offshore

Offshore workers - Credit:corlaffra/AdobeStock

In the last year, the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the risks of working in what was already one of the most hostile environments on Earth. But, with the first anniversary of the outbreak not long in our collective rear-view mirrors, offshore workers in the North Sea are facing a twin threat: emerging new variants of the virus and increasing Covid-fatigue and complacency.The UK offshore industry has achieved an enviable safety record during the pandemic, due in large measure to the widespread testing of offshore workers before mobilization.

15 Jan 2021

Fuel, Propulsion, Emissions & the Decision to Scrap or Refit

BW LPG – the world’s leading owner and operator of LPG vessels – will retrofit another three MAN B&W 6G60ME-C9.2 type engines to MAN B&W 6G60ME-C9.5-LGIP dual-fuel types, capable of operating on fuel oil and LPG.
Photo: MAN ES

When the maritime history books are written, 2020 will be viewed as a year of pivots, re-invention and new paradigms. By February 2020, concerns about marine fuel’s sulfur content quickly shifted to near-term disruptions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. By mid-year, with demand recovering, the conversation turned to longer term questions surrounding the moves towards reduced maritime carbon emissions and alternative fuels. How will this all impact the current fleet?Perhaps the most extreme reaction to the shifting landscape is the ongoing “pivot” of Scorpio Bulk (NYSE: SALT)…

16 Dec 2020

DNV GL Scores Work at BHP's Trion FPU

Frank Ketelaars, Regional Manager, Americas, DNV GL - Oil & Gas

Australian oil and gas company BHP, working to develop the Trion field offshore Mexico, has hired DNV GL to verify that the new infrastructure built for the Trion project is compliant with local and global safety, as well as other requirements. BHP acquired the Trion asset in Mexico’s first-ever Deepwater Bid Round in 2016. The Trion field encompasses an area of 1,285 square kilometers and is located in the deep waters of the Perdido belt. BHP is the operator holding a 60% interest in the development and PEMEX is the non-operating partner with a 40% interest.Last week…

19 Jul 2020

Shipments Resume from Pemex FPSO After Collision

File photo: El Señor del Mar FPSO (Photo: Pemex)

An oil production and storage vessel operated by Mexican state oil firm Pemex in the Gulf of Mexico has resumed crude shipments after a tanker collision halted exports earlier this month, according to a person with knowledge of the matter and data from Refinitiv Eikon.The FPSO facility (floating production, storage and offloading), which has the capacity to store up to 2.2 million barrels of crude, halted loading of vessels for exports after making "contact" with the Olympic Future tanker on July 1 due to bad weather conditions…

28 Apr 2020

Pemex Trading Arm Mulls Canceling May-June Cargos

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

The trading arm of Mexican state oil company Pemex is mulling options to slash the number of fuel cargoes the country imports in May and June as demand plummets because of the coronavirus, three sources close to the talks told Reuters.Pemex last week declared force majeure over fuel supplies from its trading arm PMI Comercio Internacional after a bottleneck of more than 60 vessels built up outside Mexican ports, waiting to discharge.But PMI still has not declared force majeure…

20 Apr 2020

Tanker Bottleneck Grows at Mexico's Ports

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

More than 20 vessels loaded with fuel have waited a week or more to discharge gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas at Mexico's ports, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, as demand craters due to coronavirus-related lockdowns.Mexico imports most of its fuel and has very limited storage capacity. State oil company Pemex and about a dozen independent importers typically discharge at least two gasoline cargoes per day, mostly coming from the United States.In January…

13 Apr 2020

OPEC, Russia Approve Biggest-Ever Oil Cut to Support Prices

OPEC and allies led by Russia agreed on Sunday to a record cut in output to prop up oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic in an unprecedented deal with fellow oil nations, including the United States, that could curb global oil supply by 20%. Measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus have destroyed demand for fuel and driven down oil prices, straining budgets of oil producers and hammering the U.S. shale industry, which is more vulnerable to low prices due to its higher costs.

03 Apr 2020

PGS Cold Stacks Two Seismic Vessels in Response to Low Oil Price

For illustration: Ramform Hyperion vessel - Image by PGS

Norwegian offshore seismic surveyor PGS has said that the coronavirus pandemic and the disruption in the oil market present unprecedented challenges for the offshore services industry, including the marine seismic industry.PGS expects the low oil price will have a material adverse impact on demand for seismic services and activity levels.Brent crude futures fell 3.2%, or 97 cents, to $28.97 per barrel as of 0636 GMT, after having risen 21% on Thursday.While oil companies have recently canceled several seismic survey contracts…

03 Jan 2020

Venezuela Alters Oil Royalty Formulas, Driven by IMO 2020

© Parilov / Adobe Stock

Venezuela has changed the formulas for calculating royalties energy companies pay the government to remove references to fuel oil and some crude grades, driven by stricter rules governing marine fuel emissions, according to a document seen by Reuters.A ban by the United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), on the use of fuels with a sulfur content above 0.5%, aimed at reducing pollution, has roiled oil markets and caused price volatility for…

13 Nov 2019

Liebherr Crane Loads Massive Oil Platform

Mexican crane and heavy haulage contractor ESEASA used its Liebherr LR 13000 crawler crane for the first time to load oil platforms onto barges at the port city of Tampico.Tampico is on the Gulf of Mexico and is a major industrial center with its own port. A large number of industrial companies have made their homes on the banks of the Rio Pánuco, to enable them to ship their freight down the river to the sea.ESEASA also has a company site directly on the banks of the waterway. The company is currently manufacturing seven oil platforms there for state oil group PEMEX. These were hoisted onto barges in component form by the LR 13000 before being transported to the south of the Gulf of Mexico.The loads for hoisting were gigantic.

13 Nov 2019

Pirates Attack OSV in the Gulf of Mexico

OSV Remas (Photo: Micoperi)

Pirates attacked an Italy-flagged offshore supply vessel in the southern Gulf of Mexico, injuring two crew members, the Mexican Navy said on Tuesday, in the latest outbreak of robbery and piracy to hit oil platforms and infrastructure in the area.One of the crew members of the vessel, Remas, received a bullet wound, and the other suffered a concussion, and both were transferred to a nearby hospital, the Navy said in a statement.Owned by Italian offshore contractor Micoperi, Remas…

13 Nov 2019

Hackers Demand $5M from Pemex

copyright Leo Lintang/AdobeStock

Hackers demanded about $5 million in bitcoin from Mexico's Pemex, they told Reuters on Tuesday, saying the state oil firm missed a special discount by not paying immediately after a cyberattack that fouled up the company's systems.The hack, which Pemex said it detected on Sunday, forced the company to shut down computers across Mexico, freezing systems such as payments, according to five employees and internal emails.Hackers have increasingly targeted companies with malicious programs that can cripple systems overseeing everything from supply chains to manufacturing…

06 Oct 2019

EMGS Increases Fleet Utilization

Norwegian geophysical services company Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) said in its fleet update for the third quarter 2019 showed a fleet utilization of 73 percent,  compared with 29% for the third quarter in 2018. The marine EM market player said that its  vessels were allocated 73% to proprietary work and no time was spent on multi-client projects, in the third quarter of 2019.In the comparable quarter of 2018, the vessels were allocated 29% to multi-client projects and no time was spent on proprietary work.EMGS had two vessels on charter and recorded 6.0 vessel months in the quarter. In the third quarter 2018, the Company also had two vessels on charter.The Atlantic Guardian commenced a proprietary survey for Pemex in Mexico on 25 July 2019. This survey is still ongoing.

03 Sep 2019

Pemex Charters 2 CIMC Jack-ups

Mexican state-owned giant Pemex has chartered two jack-up rigs built and currently owned by Chinese yard CIMC Raffles.The two 400ft Jack-Up Drilling Rigs held a naming and departure ceremony at Longkou. The two rigs will soon sail to the gulf of Mexico to provide oil and gas drilling services to Pemex.Before that, CIMC Raffles and CMIC Ocean signed leasing contracts for the two rigs.The two rigs are named “Gulf Driller 6” and “Gulf Driller 8” respectively, are currently classified by ABS. They adopted JU2000E design which equipped with MHWirth drilling package, the over length is 70m, breadth is 76m, leg length is 167m.They are able to operate at water depth up to 120m(400ft) and drill wells down to 10668m(35000ft) at minus 20 degrees Celsius…

10 Jul 2019

Trelleborg Wins Elastopipe Contract

Swedish global engineering group Trelleborg's  offshore operation has been awarded a major multi-million USD contract by Mexican state-owned petroleum company, Pemex, for Elastopipe.Elastopipe, a patented flexible piping system developed for transporting a variety of fluids, will be installed on board the Abkatun A complex in the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico.Morten Kristensen, Business Group Director at Trelleborg’s offshore facility in Norway, said: “This is our first contract made directly with Pemex and the largest contract in our history for Trelleborg’s Elastopipe system. I am pleased to see that Elastopipe is regarded as a safe and reliable firewater system…