RSI signed the five-year, multi-satellite oil spill and oil seep monitoring contract with the Marine North East Region (MNE) of PEMEX Exploration and Production (PEP) of Mexico.

PEMEX is the national company responsible for most of the activities related to hydrocarbon products in Mexico.

The contract includes imagery acquisition, processing, interpretation and services designed for oil spill and seep detection. RSI will use RADARSAT-1 and ENVISAT imagery as well as RADARSAT-2 imagery when it becomes available.

Using this multi-satellite program, PEP-MNE will able to maximise imaging opportunities over their area of interest.

This contract follows a successful pilot project in 2000 and a one-year contract in 2001 through which PEP-MNE established a maritime survelliance strategy for the Gulf of Mexico using RADARSAT-1.

The PEP-MNE contract continues to support a successful collaboration between RSI, PEMEX and Centro Brasilero de Recursos Radarsat (CBRR) of Rio de Janerio. CBRR provides technical management of the project and image interpretation.