MEXICO CITY -An intense blaze at Mexican national oil company Pemex's largest refinery was quickly put out early on Saturday, according to a company official, but it remained unclear what sparked the fire.
Local and social media had published images of bright orange flames burning near the facility's distillation towers from early on Saturday.
The Pemex official, who requested anonymity in line with the company's communications policy, told Reuters the early Saturday morning blaze was extinguished in just 15 minutes.
"It didn't stop operations and nobody was injured," the official said, but did not provide further information on what caused the fire.
The Salina Cruz refinery, on the coast of southern Oaxaca state, can process up to 330,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is a key Pemex trading and logistical hub along Mexico's Pacific coast.
Earlier on Saturday, Oaxaca emergency services agency CEPCO said in a statement posted on social media that it was monitoring the fire and that preliminary information indicated that it had been controlled but at that time was still active.