Dos Bocas Olmeca Refinery: Four Safety Incidents in Three Weeks — Deadly March Fire Kills 5

AMLO's flagship Dos Bocas Olmeca Refinery in Tabasco suffered four safety incidents within 23 days in March–April 2026. The deadliest occurred on March 17, 2026: heavy rains caused overflow of hydrocarbon-contaminated water outside the perimeter wall; its ignition killed five people — one Pemex employee and four external security subcontractors whose vehicle was trapped by flames. Three more incidents followed. On April 9, fire broke out in the coke storage warehouse; 150+ Pemex personnel backed by the Navy, SEDENA, and Tabasco state forces responded. The fire was controlled by 6:25 p.m. with one minor injury. President Sheinbaum confirmed via social media the fire was localized; Pemex Director Víctor Rodríguez traveled personally to supervise. As of early 2026, the refinery operates at ~60% of its 340,000 bbl/day nameplate capacity — an improvement from 17% in late 2024 but still far short of the targets that were to justify its $20B+ total cost.