Tag: Brazil

Filter By:

Brazil’s Jubarte Field Oil Spill Under Navy Investigation

Spill seen in Petrobras' Jubarte field, Folha reports An oil spill was discovered off Brazil's coast near the country's Espirito Santo state, Brazil's Navy said on Thursday, the latest in a series of spills that have raised questions about the safety of a massive expansion of the country's oil production capacity.The Navy said it has sent a team to investigate and has no immediate estimate of the spill's size.Oil workers returning home after work offshore said there was an oil stain about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) long on the ocean near the P-57 oil platform operated by Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, the Folha de S. Paulo daily newspaper reported.The P-57, a converted oil tanker, works in the Jubarte field about 85 kilometers (53 miles) off Brazil's coast. Jubarte produced 186,000 barrels of oil per day in February, or about more than 8 percent of Brazil's total oil output of 2.1 million bpd, according to Brazil's oil regulator, the ANP.Jubarte is the fourth largest producing oil field in the country. When natural gas is added, production was equivalent to 198,000 barrels of oil per day (boepd).Petrobras plans to spend about $225 billion over five years to help triple output to ...

Read more

Port of Rotterdam Inks Agreement to Develop New Port in Brazil

Development of Porto Central, a new port in Brazil The Port of Rotterdam Authority, the state of Espirito Santo, the municipality of Presidente Kennedy and project developer Terminal Presidente Kennedy (TPK) signed an agreement in Vitória, Brazil for the development of Porto Central, a new port in Brazil.The so-called 'greenfield port' still has to be built and will be located in the extreme south of Espirito Santo state, to the north of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It will be an industrial port on deep sea water for handling oil, gas, offshore services, dry bulk and general cargoThe intention is that the first ship will sail into the new port in a few years' time.2012 and 2013 will be used for approaching the market and obtaining the necessary permits. In the first phase, a start will be made on the construction of a 1,000-hectare industrial port.Joint ventureFor the development of Porto Central, the Port Authority is entering into a cooperation agreement with TPK, a group of Brazilian business people with experience in the mining and offshore industries. The Port Authority's main contribution will be its expertise and knowledge in the field of port management. This cooperation agreement will be ...

Read more

Brazil Chevron oil leak charges to focus on safety

Chevron says it followed industry drilling norms A Brazilian prosecutor plans to allege this week that Chevron and Transocean should not have drilled a deep-water well that leaked in November, legal documents showed, giving a glimpse into expected criminal charges that could slow the rush to develop Brazil's vast offshore oil wealth.The accident cracked geological structures in the reservoir and oil will continue leaking from the field until it is emptied, the prosecutor Eduardo Santos de Oliveira told Reuters in a telephone interview on Monday.The prosecutor's comments expanded on his investigations and police reports being used to assemble criminal indictments against U.S. oil company Chevron, drill-rig operator Transocean, and 17 of their executives and employees.The documents, obtained by Reuters, provided the most detailed look yet at possible causes of the oil leak off Brazil's southern coast. They also outline why prosecutors are seeking criminal charges for what industry watchers note is a relatively small spill at a well that was approved for drilling by Brazilian regulators."We are in uncharted territory," said Cleveland Jones, a Brazilian oil geologist at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. "Do we want better environmental standards? Yes. Did the environment get really hurt? No. If ...

Read more

Brazil to charge Chevron executives over fresh oil leak

Chevron halted production in Brazil after new oil leak found Brazilian prosecutors say they will bring criminal charges against 17 executives from the US oil company Chevron and drilling contractor Transocean after a new leak of crude.The executives have been barred from leaving the country until the investigation concludes.Chevron halted production in Brazil after the new oil leak was found on the seabed off Brazil earlier this week.The seepage is near a well where there was a major oil spill last November.A Chevron spokeswoman said the company had no comment on the latest legal moves because it had not been notified of the decision.The oil company is already facing a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit over November's spill.Federal prosecutors' spokesman Marcelo del Negri told AP news agency that prosecutors would file charges including "environmental crimes" in a federal court next week.The nationalities of the executives are reported to be five from the US, five Brazilians, three Australians, two French nationals, a Canadian and a Briton.Chevron confirmed on Thursday that there was a "small new oil seepage" and that it was working to collect the crude.In November up to 3,000 barrels of oil spilled from the well in the Frade field, which is around ...

Read more

Chevron halts production after leak at Brazil oil field

Fresh oil leak discovered The US oil company Chevron says it has temporarily halted production operations in Brazil after a fresh oil leak was discovered.It has detected what it calls a "small new seepage" of oil on the seabed close to a well in the Frade field, where there was a major leak in 2011.The company says it has taken the step as a precaution.In November up to 3,000 barrels of oil spilled from the well, which is around 240 miles (370km) off Rio de Janeiro.New fine Brazil's oil regulator, ANP, says it is unclear how large the latest spillage might be, but that the oil seems to be coming from cracks in the ocean floor close to the well, rather than the well itself.Chevron is already facing a $100m (64m) fine for November's leak, and ANP says it will impose a new fine for failing to prevent this latest spill.Chevron has confirmed the leak in a statement, and says it is working to collect any crude oil that has made its way into the ocean.Company executives say there is no evidence the new leak was caused by drilling.The Frade field is the largest foreign run oil field in Brazil, ...

Read more

Brazil Petrobras Starts Production At Cascade Field In US Gulf of Mexico

Output was delayed by Macondo disaster, technical issues with FPSO Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, said late Thursday that the company had started pumping oil from the first of two deepwater oil fields in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in late February.Output at the Cascade field started Feb. 25, when the Cascade 4 well was connected to the BW Pioneer floating production, storage and offloading vessel, or FPSO, Petrobras said. The BW Pioneer is the first FPSO used for oil and natural gas production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, according to the company. Petrobras uses FPSOs extensively as production platforms at Brazilian offshore fields.Cascade and a sister field, called Chinook, are part of an ultradeepwater oil reserve discovered about 250 kilometers off the coast of Louisiana. Cascade lies in about 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) of water, Petrobras said.Petrobras had originally expected to start output at the Cascade and Chinook fields in 2010, but the project was delayed after the U.S. government banned offshore drilling in the wake of the Macondo spill disaster. After receiving approval by the U.S. Department of the Interior to use the FPSO in March 2011, production was delayed once again ...

Read more

Transpetro tanker spills oil neart Brazil beaches

Authorities in southern Brazil have evacuated beaches off Rio Grande do Sul Authorities in southern Brazil have evacuated beaches off Rio Grande do Sul following an oil spill involving a tanker that is believed to be controlled by Transpetro.The transport arm of state-controlled energy giant Petrobras says the incident at its Osorio Terminal began to unfold Thursday morning during an operation to transfer cargo from a ship to a monobuoy, a floating platform equipped with pipelines that feed storage tanks onshore.A Transpetro spokesman could not identify the vessel by name and said it's impossible to determine the size of the spill but they were able to confirm reports that more than 150 environmental professionals are attempting to contain and clean-up the area.The company says an internal investigation into the cause of the incident will likely follow a probe led by Brazil's National Petroleum Agency, port authorities, the coast guard and other regional organisations.Source: Tradewinds

Read more

Chevron to face charges over Brazil spill

$11 billion civil lawsuit as punishment for a November offshore oil spill A Brazilian prosecutor plans to file criminal charges against Chevron Corp and some of its local managers within weeks, adding the threat of prison sentences to an $11 billion civil lawsuit as punishment for a November offshore oil spill.The filing in federal court in Campos, Brazil, will likely include a request for criminal indictment of George Buck, chief executive of Chevron's Brazil unit, as well as other staff, three Brazilian government officials involved in the case told Reuters.Transocean Ltd, whose rig was used in the operation, and some of its employees in Brazil are also expected to be charged, according to the officials, who requested anonymity because the case has not been presented to a judge. It is up to a judge to determine whether to accept the charges and proceed with indictments.The backlash against the Chevron spill has highlighted the risks that energy companies face as they rush to get a piece of Brazil's oil bonanza. Chevron's legal troubles come as new oil rules give Brazil's government more control over the country's vast oil wealth. The regulatory overhaul has also delayed investment projects and new drilling licenses.Buck ...

Read more

Aware of very heavy rains in Brazil

UK P&I Club - information The UK P&I Club has received questions surrounding state of affairs in Brazil following the recent heavy rainfall. The following has been advised by the Club's correspondent in Brazil.Operators contracted to load iron ore in south/south east Brazil should be aware of very heavy rains reported in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio De Janeiro and Espirito Santo and particularly the river Dolce valley which areas feed the terminals of Sepetiba Bay, Ilha Guaiba, Praia Mole,Tubarao and Itaguai. Because of the inclement weather, Members should pay particular attention to paperwork/cargo prior to loading to ensure cargo condition on loading is suitable for safe carriage.The IMSBC code dictates that FMP and TML figures for Group A cargoes must be accompanied by a declaration of the proposed consignment's moisture content based upon an analysis undertaken in the last 7 days.Source: The UK P&I Club

Read more
Page 21 of 23 1 20 21 22 23