Explosion at Cantarell Oil Platform: Fire on Nohoch Alfa Platform in Campeche
In a Friday incident on the Nohoch Alfa platform, part of the Cantarell complex off the coast of Campeche, Mexico, a fire injured several workers and left others unaccounted for. The blaze prompted immediate action as emergency crews battled the flames at the offshore facility where more than 300 personnel were employed when the event occurred. Initial statements confirmed that two people had died and eight were injured, with one person reported missing while others were evacuated. The state-controlled Pemex confirmed that three of its employees were among the injured and were out of danger, alongside five workers from a private contractor. (PEMEX)
The fire began at approximately 05:25 a.m. local time and quickly triggered the platform’s emergency shutoff. In response, four company rescue boats were deployed to the site to carry out containment and control missions. Firefighting vessels arrived promptly and worked to keep the flames from spreading to other platforms within the Cantarell complex. The operation was part of a broader strategy to restore production as quickly as possible while ensuring the safety of the crew. (PEMEX)
According to Octavio Romero Oropeza, the managing director of PEMEX, the firefighting teams managed to prevent a wider disaster and to expedite a return to production once the situation was stabilized. In a preliminary update, PEMEX stated that six injuries had been reported and later clarified that 321 of the 328 workers on the Nohoch Alfa platform had been evacuated. Remaining personnel were accounted for as the emergency response continued. (PEMEX)
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador addressed the incident during a daily press briefing, noting that three or four workers remained missing while indicating that the rest of the platform’s staff had already been evacuated. The president affirmed that PEMEX would provide ongoing updates as more information became available throughout the day. (White House translation: Official briefing on the incident)
Rescue and recovery operations continued as authorities assessed the cause of the fire and reviewed safety protocols on the offshore facility. The Cantarell complex, one of Mexico’s principal oil production sites, involves a substantial number of employees, including contractors, and incidents on such platforms typically trigger coordination among PEMEX, local authorities, and national safety agencies. The situation remained fluid as officials worked to confirm the status of all workers and determine the next steps for the platform and surrounding operations. (PEMEX, government updates)