Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has announced that the Olmeca Refinery, located in Dos Bocas, Tabasco, has begun a gradual start-up process to restore its activities after an incident that occurred on April 25, 2025. According to the official statement, the contingency was triggered due to a communication failure in the main satellite room number 17 of the Cogeneration plant CCS-17, which led to the automatic activation of safety systems and the immediate shutdown of processing plants.
The electrical load of the refinery was reduced by half, from 130 to 65 MWh, and the gas turbogenerators stopped in the early hours of April 26. During operations to balance the electrical loads, there was an attempt to change turbogenerator 2 from a combined cycle to a simple cycle, but a failure in the actuator configuration prevented proper operation, resulting in an emergency shutdown.
The situation was corrected, and the power plant resumed its activities that same day. Pemex assured that the incident posed no danger to personnel, nearby communities, facilities, or the environment, and that the necessary operational protocols were immediately implemented to restore essential services. During a press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum ruled out the possibility of sabotage, calling the incident a minor failure. Sheinbaum stated that production, previously estimated at 100,000 barrels per day before the shutdown, is close to resuming and that the installation did not suffer serious structural damage.
Inaugurated in 2022, the Olmeca Refinery is a strategic project for Mexico's energy self-sufficiency and is currently in the testing phase.
