A lightning storm triggered a fire on the afternoon of August 19 at an out-of-service tank at Pemex's Pajaritos Storage and Port Services Terminal in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, with no injuries reported. The fire broke out at approximately 17:50 hours at the upper valve of the tank dome, according to Petróleos Mexicanos.
The fire occurred amid a lightning storm battering the port of Coatzacoalcos, with flames visible from outside the facility, as reported by El Universal. Pajaritos is one of Pemex Logistics' most strategically significant maritime and industrial installations: it forms part of the Pajaritos Petrochemical Complex and serves as the primary Gulf of Mexico hub for the receipt, storage, reformulation, and distribution of crude oil, refined products, and petrochemicals. The incident took place at a complex that concentrates critical infrastructure for the country's hydrocarbon supply chain. The episode reopens the conversation about the resilience of Mexico's port energy infrastructure in the face of increasingly severe weather events in the region, a central concern for critical asset planning.
According to Forbes México, Pemex reported that the incident originated at the upper valve of the dome of an out-of-service tank, affected by the lightning storm. The company activated its incident and accident response protocols and deployed firefighting and industrial safety personnel, with support from teams at other nearby work centers, while also requesting assistance from Coatzacoalcos Civil Protection. Workers were evacuated as a precautionary measure and the fire was brought under control. No injuries were reported, and the company indicated that operations continued while specialized personnel attended to the incident.
The episode comes amid increasingly severe weather events in the Gulf of Mexico, which places the preparedness of coastal terminals for contingencies as a key point of attention for the energy sector. The report that Pemex expects to issue on the causes of the fire and the condition of the tank will clarify the full scope of the incident.
This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.