MEXICO CITY, Aug 2 (Reuters) – Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex reported on Sunday that it had completed the closure of its Krem-1 exploratory well, nearly five months after an accident caused a fire and the prolonged flaring of natural gas.
The well, sited near the town of Las Choapas in the eastern state of Veracruz, “no longer has surface flow,” Pemex said in a statement.
The company said it will continue with environmental cleanup, compensation and repair efforts, in coordination with authorities and surrounding communities.
Reuters on Friday reported on residents’ concerns regarding the potential health and environmental effects of the incident and the gas flaring, which started in early March. One researcher estimated the well burned about 300 million cubic meters of gas between March and July.
Pemex said it will continue to provide medical services to more than 45 communities surrounding the area and deploy field teams to document the impact of the incident.
(Reporting by Noé Torres; Writing by Iñigo Alexander; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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