MEXICO CITY/HOUSTON (Reuters) -Pemex’s Deer Park oil refinery near Houston will operate this weekend at a low level following a deadly chemical leak a couple days ago, Mexico’s national oil company said in a statement late on Friday.
The state-owned oil company said it is continuing to investigate the cause of Thursday’s hydrogen sulfide gas leak that killed two contract workers while injuring 35 others during work on a unit at the 312,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery.
Work was underway on a sulfur recovery unit at the time, according to people familiar with the matter.
Pemex management has operated the facility for nearly three years.
The facility is a major motor fuels supplier to Mexico, where the ruling party has sought to reduce reliance on gasoline and diesel imports from non-Pemex refiners in a push to be more energy self-sufficient.
On Friday, Pemex’s CEO Victor Rodriguez said that thirteen workers remained hospitalized after being exposed to the leak, while Mexico’s energy minister said she expected the facility to be back to normal operations later on Friday.
But the company walked back that expectation with its latest statement.
“The refinery continues to operate in stable conditions at a low level, a level that will be kept in place during the weekend as long as it’s possible to have access to the areas to carry out the corresponding inspections,” the company said in its Friday night statement.
Rodriguez, who took over earlier this month, noted on Friday that three or four units had been shut at the refinery following the incident.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), which investigates industrial accidents and makes recommendations to prevent future incidents, also has begun a probe of what it described as a “very serious incident.”
Deer Park for decades was operated by oil major Shell (LON:SHEL), but Pemex took full ownership of the refinery in early 2022, acquiring Shell’s 50% stake in what had been a long-standing joint venture.
In 2021, Shell disclosed that it sold its interest in Deer Park to Pemex for some $596 million.
Pemex’s domestic refineries have for years suffered a series of accidents, including explosions and fires, that have caused deaths in Mexico.