A drone view shows a skimming boom deployed along the Rio Seco to collect oil after a spill from Pemex\u2019s Olmeca refinery, which is recovering fossil fuels in strategic areas within or adjacent to the facility, in Puerto Ceiba, Tabasco state, Mexico, March 20, 2026. REUTERS\/Luis Manuel Lopez<\/p>\n
Pemex Undersea Pipeline Found To Cause Gulf Oil Spill<\/p>\n
Apr 19, 2026 (Bloomberg) \u2013An<\/p>\n
in the Gulf of Mexico that soiled beaches, killed wildlife and sparked outrage from environmental groups was caused by a leaky pipeline owned by state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, the company said.<\/p>\n
A government investigation determined that an undersea pipeline near the Abkatun offshore platform was the cause of the leak,<\/p>\n
Chief Executive Officer Victor Rodriguez said at a press briefing on Thursday evening. Three employees were fired as a result of the accident, he added.<\/p>\n
The amount of crude that spilled into the Gulf is still being determined, Mexico\u2019s Science Minister Rosaura Ruiz said at the same press conference. The oil facility is close to the Bay of Campeche, off the Mexican coast.<\/p>\n
The spill, which spread from Mexico\u2019s southern Tabasco state to as far north as Tamaulipas, underscores<\/p>\n
Pemex\u2019s struggles to clean up its environmental track record<\/p>\n
and accidents in recent years. Those events have compounded the company\u2019s financial woes as it seeks to reverse slumping production and emerge from under more than $85 billion in debt.<\/p>\n
Mexico\u2019s government began investigating the cause of the leak last month, initially suggesting that natural oil seepages,<\/p>\n
illegal dumping from tankers<\/p>\n
faulty Pemex infrastructure<\/p>\n
could be to blame. Environmental groups argued that faulty facilities were the most likely cause of the pollution.<\/p>\n
Environmental groups including Greenpeace and the Mexico Alliance Against Fracking have estimated that at as much as 800 tons of hydrocarbons have<\/p>\n
spilled into the Gulf<\/p>\n
as a result of the accident.<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a02026\u00a0Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n