MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The chief executive of Mexico’s state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) on Wednesday said an oil pipeline leak in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this month was fixed by July 10.
In a press conference at Pemex’s headquarters, CEO Octavio Romero said the company never tried to cover up the leak, and disputed some media reports, which he called “inaccurate.”
Pemex on July 18 refuted reports by environmental groups of an oil leak covering 400 square kilometers (154 square miles), and Romero said on Wednesday that the leak’s magnitude was much smaller than reported.
Romero said Pemex alerted authorities of the leak on July 5, two days after first detecting it.
Heavily indebted Pemex has suffered a number of accidents in recent years at its installations in the Gulf of Mexico, where the vast majority of its oil production occurs.
(Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Kylie Madry)
