Mother Nature is perpetrator of latest Pemex attacks

The same storm system that got me out of classes on Wednesday left 18 dead, with several more missing, after 6-8 meter tall waves drove an oil rig into a stationary platform Tuesday evening. The majority of the 80 or so workers on the rig at the time of the collision crammed into safety rafts and floated to safety. The bodies of those who drowned after being left raftless, have been found washed ashore in the last two days. Nearly one dozen workers remain missing. As President Fecal spent the day personally visiting every one of the surviving members at the Pemex-run Campeche State Hospital, Pemex speculated about the consequences the accident would have on its operations.

President Felipe Calderon issued a statement expressing his "most sincere condolences and solidarity in this moment of pain" to the victims' families and offering them any help the government could provide.

Pemex said it would take three to five days to control the leak caused by Tuesday's accident, but noted that it mainly involved gas.

"The spill of crude oil into the sea has been less than originally thought," the company said.

Considering the EPR attacks on six Pemex major pipelines last month, major gas company Repsol's recent announcement that it'll be cutting back on its involvement in Pemex's development and now this, it's fair to say that Pemex has seen better days. Concerning its latest hiccup, all we can hope for is that Fecal follows through on his promises to do everything within his power to help both the survivors and the bereaving families. In addition to ensuring that the wounded be given adequate medical attention, he must force Pemex to allow those workers not officially on its payroll, or a majority of the survivors, to receive the same compensatory benefits promised for those that it directly employs. This is the least Fecal and Pemex can do after their shared negligence (here I'm referring most fundamentally to the failure of both to improve Pemex's quality standards) led to the company's worst accident in its 70 year history.