03/28/11 – On Friday March 18, the Mexican state-owned petroleum company “Petróleos Mexicanos,” known as Pemex, celebrated its 73rd anniversary. In a ceremony held that same day, Pemex Director Juan José Suárez Coppel stated that any kind of acts of corruption will not be tolerated. He announced that this anniversary should be a celebration of overcoming “fatalistic visions” of the company’s future. President Calderón was present as well and announced that Mexico will strive to make Pemex the top oil company in the world. The governors of various Mexican states were also present at the ceremony, including Fernando Ortega of Campeche, Javier Duarte of Veracruz, Egidio Torres of Tamaulipas and Andrés Granier of Tabasco.
Pemex has had a history thieves tapping pipelines, often by drug cartels trying to extract profits. In December 2010, a pipeline belonging to Pemex exploded in San Martin Texmelucan killing at least 28 people and injuring another 52. 32 houses were also completely destroyed while an additional 115 were damaged. Investigations revealed illegal extraction of oil from the pipe was the cause of the explosion.
CNN Wire Staff. “Oil pipeline explosion kills 28 in Mexico.” CNN. 20 December, 2011.
“En Pemex sin cuentas secretas ni cajas chicas: FCH.” Azteca Noticias. 18 March, 2011.
