Gulf of Mexico Fire: Gas Pipeline Burst Causes Shocking Scene
A shocking scene was spotted in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Friday after an underwater gas pipeline in the area burst. CBS News reported that the fire described as an "eye of fire" happened in the west of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, specifically a short distance from an oil company. The pipeline that caused the blaze was owned by the company Pemex.
Pemex confirmed with The Guardian that the blaze that resembles a "molten lava" in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico took at least five hours to be contained.
Reuters reported that the blaze was contained at around 10:30 in the morning. Pemex said that the incident was immediately addressed after security protocols were activated. Firefighter's vessels were also sent to contain the fire in the area. Furthermore, Pemex's company workers allegedly used nitrogen to contain the fire in waters.
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Gas Pipeline Burst Causes "Eye of Fire" in the Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico fire started when gas started leaking from the pipeline at Campeche sound roughly 5:15 in the morning. The said pipeline was connected to a platform at Pemex's flagship Ku Maloob Zaap oil development. Pétroleos Mexicanos or Pemex noted that the operations resumed after interconnection valves were closed and the fire was extinguished.
Details regarding the cause of the fire were not furthered by the oil company, but they noted that they would administer a probe on the cause.
Although the cause of the leak on the gas pipeline was not yet certain, Reuters mentioned a Pemex incident report saying that turbomachinery of "Ku Maloob Zaap's active production facilities" were disturbed by heavy rains and electrical storms.
It was reported that Ku Malaab Zaap was Pemex's biggest "crude oil producer." The site was known to be accountable for more than 40 percent of the company's 1.7 million barrels of daily output.
Despite the gravity of the incident, Pemex confirmed that there were no casualties or evacuees after the fire erupted in the Gulf of Mexico.
Meanwhile, the executive director of Mexico's security, energy, and environment agency, Angel Carrizales, took to Twitter to update the people. Carrizales noted that the incident did not generate any spill on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Gas Pipeline Leak Explosion
Although the reason for the Gulf of Mexico Fire was still unknown, Sciencing reported that pipelines and containers can become damaged and leak out hydrocarbon fuels. Other factors such as the blunt impact of an object into the container of the pipeline can cause damage.
Sciencing also noted that a spark can ignite a gas leak. Smoking can also ignite a fire because the burning tip of the cigarette generates enough heat to ignite the gas.
However, if a gas leak did not ignite, a combustible fuel-air cloud will form. When a spark interacts with the cloud, an explosion might occur. However, if the gas cloud would not interact with a spark or enough heat, then it will eventually dissipate.
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WATCH: Video Shows Fire in Gulf of Mexico After Gas Pipeline Rupture- From ABC7