On July 2nd, the internet was set ablaze after a video of the Gulf of Mexico burning orange went viral. The blaze in the ocean, dubbed the ‘Eye of Fire’ due to the fire’s circular shape, broke out a short distance from the Pemex oil platform, west of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.
A bizarre series of incidents, which involved a gas leak, and lightning set the aquatic fire raging at dawn. It started with the company shutting off their pumping station which supplied the seaward rig close to where the fire started. A rather unfortunate and simultaneous gas leak in an underwater pipeline that connects to a platform at Pemex's flagship Ku Maloob Zaap oil development caused a build-up of natural gas, which upon rising to the surface was further aggravated by a bolt of lightning causing the massive ignition.
Ku Maloob Zaap is the biggest crude oil producer for Pemex and is located just above the southern rim of the Gulf of Mexico. It accounts for over 40% of the 1.7 million barrels of crude oil output per day.
According to Pemex, the fire began at 5:15 am, local time, off the coast of Campeche, and there were neither any reported injuries nor was the production from the project affected. Pemex sent out at least three fire control boats to water down the flames and was put out by 10:45 am. The company also added that nitrogen was used by the workers to get the flames under control.
According to the Reuters news agency, Angel Carrizales, the head of Mexico's oil safety regulator ASEA, posted on Twitter that the incident "did not generate any spill," but failed to elaborate as to what was burning on the ocean surface.
Pemex who has a rather lengthy record of industrial accidents set off environmentalists with this recent ignition of a subaquatic fireball in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A major fire broke out in April near the Gulf of Mexico, at its Lázaro Cárdenas refinery in Minatitlán, which injured seven people. In 2019, the Tuxlan-Tula pipeline exploded in one of the deadliest pipeline explosions killing 137 people. Further, earlier in 2016, Pemex’s petrochemical plant in Coatzacoalcos exploded resulting in the death of 28 people.
While the ocean on fire is a cause of concern, the ‘Eye of Fire’ also sparked several hilarious memes on Twitter.
Like the Gulf of Mexico engulfed with orange flames was not bad enough, a large fire erupted in the Caspian Sea too on July 4th, which was caused due to the eruption of a mud volcano and not any accident according to SOCAR, which is Azerbaijan’s state oil company. Recently, the US Navy released footage of detonating 40000 lb bombs in the sea causing not just a massive explosion, but also an earthquake of magnitude 3.9 about 100 miles away.
While some might say oil rigs on seas are necessary, better safety and anti-pollution measures must come into place in order to prevent such incidents, since this ring of fire on the Gulf of Mexico is just one of many. Unfortunately, such instances are not the only threat our waters face.
What started off with simply slashing trees for food and shelter soon turned into the destruction of everything earth had to offer. Now men have moved from destroying all that is green to trying their luck with the blue. If we continue the same path, soon, it will be too late, and with the annihilation of nature will come the end of humanity.
Comments