Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras confirmed occurrence of an oil leak on 2 January in one of the tanks of the FPSO ‘Cidade de Rio de Janeiro’, a unit chartered by the company and operated by Modec do Brasil in the Espadarte field in the Campos Basin, approximately 130 km from the Macaé coastline, on the north coast of Rio de Janeiro.
The Emergency Plan was immediately activated and control measures were taken, resulting in containment of the leak on January 3, upon withdrawal of the oil from the tank. It is estimated that the total volume leaked was approximately 4.9 m³,
…the company informed in an official statement.
The plant had already stopped production since July 2018 for the decommissioning process.
The regulatory agencies have been duly informed and a commission of inquiry will investigate the causes of the incident in cooperation with Modec. All resources are available and the authorities (ANP, IBAMA and MARINHA – Navy) are following the actions in progress, Petrobras further noted.
The Campos Basin is the main sedimentary area already explored off the Brazilian coast. It ranges from the outskirts of Vitoria (state of Espírito Santo) to Arraial do Cabo, off the northern coast of Rio de Janeiro, an area or approximately 100,000 square kilometers.
