Oil spills on Mexico’s Gulf coast have raised questions about the ability and commitment of the country’s national oil company to limit environmental risks. In a six-week period from late December to early this month, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) reported four pipeline spills, an oil-well explosion and a grounded oil tanker. All of the incidents occurred in Veracruz state, where some of Mexico’s richest petroleum deposits are found and where much of state-owned Pemex’s refining operations are centered. The spills, involving some 320,000 gallons (1.2 million liters) in a pair of rivers and groundwater systems, have killed untold quantities of fish and endangered the health of seabirds, sea turtles and other marine life. They also have publicly underscored the environmental threat posed here... [Log in to read more]