Yahoo News 17 Dec 07;
Oil workers have capped a damaged oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico that spilled crude and natural gas for almost two months after a deadly high-seas collision, Mexico's state-owned oil company announced on Sunday.
At least 21 employees were killed in the Oct. 23 collision with a drilling rig during a storm.
Petroleos Mexicanos workers injected concrete into the well after installing a new valve assembly — blocking the well "definitively," the company said.
"The control of the well was carried out without any injury to the workers, despite risky conditions that prevailed throughout the entire process," Pemex said in a news release.
Roughly 420 barrels of oil per day spilled from the damaged platform since late October. Pemex said "the latest reports indicate that no oil has reached beaches in recent weeks."
The company faced a nightmarish combination of leaking crude, bad weather, a stubborn fire fueled by leaking natural gas, and the presence of other toxic gases emanating from the well.
Before the flames were controlled earlier this month, fireboats were stationed at the platform around the clock, pumping sea water to prevent further damage to the platform, much of it now dismantled.
External and internal company investigations are under way into the cause of the collision and the loss of life.
The company said it would continue to monitor and recover any spilled crude.
