Nuevo Leon, a state in northern Mexico on Sunday warned that it would seek penalties for state oil company Pemex after a sharp increase in visible emissions from its Cadereyta refinery earlier in the day.
Thick, yellow and black smoke billowing from flare stacks – meant to burn off only small volumes of excess natural gas, were visible in a video footage posted on social media, including by State Governor Samuel Garcia.
“We’re going to impose harsh penalties for this incident,” Garcia, who belongs to the Citizens’ Movement, a party in opposition to the ruling National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), said in a video message.
“I’ve asked the environmental minister to be forceful and apply the law so that, whatever happens, I no longer see these types of events that pollute our air. We have the right to clean air in Nuevo Leon.”
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In its reaction to the warning, Pemex said in a statement that it had “safely halted” operations in one of the plants at the Cadereyta refinery in the afternoon and maintained that there was no risk to the population as the emissions were under control.
However, Nuevo Leon’s environment ministry said in a statement that it had repeatedly detected “intensified” emissions from the refinery, especially at night, and that the refinery was responsible for 90% of sulfur dioxide emissions in the metropolitan area of Monterrey city, the state’s capital.
The ministry said that state environmental law gave it the right, if necessary, to halt operations at the refinery.
Heavily indebted, Pemex is under intense international pressure, including from the United States, and its own bond investors, to clean up its operations after two vast methane leaks last year and excessive gas flaring.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
