Fire erupts in Gulf of Mexico after undersea gas pipeline ruptures

[Still Waters]

A fire erupted on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico after the state-owned oil company suffered a rupture in an undersea gas pipeline.

Petroleos Mexicanos said it had dispatched fire control boats to pump more water over the flames.

Pemex, as the company is known, said nobody was injured in the incident in the offshore Ku-Maloob-Zaap field.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-07-03/fire-erupts-in-gulf-of-mexico-after-undersea-gas-pipeline-ruptures

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/03/eye-of-fire-gas-leak-sparks-huge-blaze-on-ocean-surface-off-mexico

[Seti42]

I was watching this on the you Tube and damn...It does look like some kind of hellgate or scene from a fantasy/sci-fi movie or high budget video game.
Crazy.

[NCC1701]

Fried fish anyone?

[Jon the frog]

WTF... let's destroy the planet a little more , nope lets go epic more...

[+and-then]

I wonder what caused it to ignite?

[Ratbiter]

Okay am I dumb? or is there a reason they putting water on the fire? Come on educate me, please.

[+DanL]

Fire is basically a chemical reaction. Carbon mixing rapidly with oxygen creates fire. The fire is only on the surface when the hot gases suddenly have air to causr=e fire. You can drown the fire with fire on the water just as you can on dry land. They have an unlimited supply of water so that is what they use.

[+and-then]

It has been accepted for over a century that combustion/fire requires fuel, oxygen and heat to exist.  Where does the heat come from in this instance?

[lightly]

On July 3, 2021 at 6:16 PM, and then said:

I wonder what caused it to ignite?

I thought about that too... I thought maybe Lightning.?  

[strunk64]

On 7/3/2021 at 6:16 PM, and then said:

I wonder what caused it to ignite?

It says in the article, : "However, the accident gave rise to the strange sight of roiling balls of flame boiling up from below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico". What could have caused ignition underwater? And, what kind of gas was it?.

[+and-then]

2 hours ago, strunk64 said:

It says in the article, : "However, the accident gave rise to the strange sight of roiling balls of flame boiling up from below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico". What could have caused ignition underwater? And, what kind of gas was it?.

It's most likely methane but I don't think there's enough oxygen below the surface to allow combustion.

[Raptor Witness]

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by Raptor Witness

[+and-then]

  

[Essan]

On 7/3/2021 at 11:16 PM, and then said:

I wonder what caused it to ignite?

Believed to have been lightning

Mexico's state-owned oil company said Monday that a bizarre chain of events, including a lightning storm and a simultaneous gas pipeline leak, set off a strange subaquatic fireball seen last week in the Gulf of Mexico.

Petroleos Mexicanos said an intense storm of rain and lightning on July 2 forced the company to shut off pumping stations serving the offshore rig near where the fire occurred.

Simultaneously, the leak in an underwater pipeline allowed natural gas to build up on the ocean floor and once it rose to the surface, it was probably ignited by a lightning bolt, the company said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9759475/Eye-fire-flames-erupted-Gulf-Mexico-sparked-lightning-storm.html