Pemex, Veracruz to discuss oil spill compensation Jan.20

The head of Mexico's state oil company Pemex, Luis Ramirez Corzo, will meet Veracruz state governor Fidel Herrera and other state officials on January 20 to evaluate damages and discuss compensation for the December 22 oil spill from a Pemex pipeline, the company said in a statement. Pemex has recovered 5,796 barrels of a mixture of crude and water, newspaper Diario de Xalapa reported Corzo as saying. The company has said 5,000 barrels of crude were spilled, though other reports put the number as high as 10,000. The spilled oil flowed into the Coatzacoalcos river and reached the port of the same name. Ramírez admitted that 29 worn-out duct lines need maintenance, the same lack of maintenance that led to spills elsewhere in the country. Flows of 105,000 barrels a day (b/d) of Maya crude and of some 200,000b/d of Istmo crude restarted within 24 hours of the incident, Diario de Xalapa reported.