Pemex says no environmental damage from Mexico's Gulf fire

Mexico's national oil company, Pemex, said that the environmental damage due to a massive blaze, on July 2nd, that surfaced on the ocean was avoided due to quick action.

The blaze that was caught on video, showed bright orange flames in the water as the fire raged a short distance from the company's oil platform. The company has previously said it took more than five hours to fully extinguish the fire, and said that the fire was sparked by an electric storm that ignited a gas leak.

"There was no oil spill and the immediate action taken to control the surface fire avoided environmental damage," the company said in a statement on Monday.

The fire took place at the top producing offshore oilfield operated by the company. And according to environmentalist, it  has a long track record of major industrial accidents.

A board member with Mexico's environmental law center CEMDA, Gusatvo Alanis, told Reuters he thinks it is too soon to conclude that the fire caused no environmental damage.

"Pemex should commit to preparing an "detailed study of the (environmental) impact caused by the fire" as well as a plan to repair the damage, according to a statement issued earlier on Monday and signed by more than two dozen environmental groups, including Greenpeace as well as CEMDA," reported Reuters.