MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil halts operations on Petrobras oil platform citing safety reasons

Most of Brazil’s oil is extracted off-shore

Brazil's oil regulator said on Thursday it halted operations of state oil company Petrobras' (PETR4.SA: Quote) offshore P-33 platform, citing safety concerns. The announcement follows oil workers union claims that the rig was “dangerous”.

The platform in mid-July reported a vapour leak that did not cause any injuries or damage but sparked union complaints.

”With the goal of protecting the safety of operations and the workers ... the National Petroleum Agency decided to suspend operations on the P-33 platform until the levels of security required by the (agency) are re-established,“ the agency said in a statement.

According to the union Sindipetro spokesperson Marco Breda “it’s some time now since we made an official complaint about the poor safety conditions of P-33 but Petrobras said the situation could wait until October. We believe there are serious risks in continuing to operate in such conditions”.

Breda added that even “the rescue boats system is not working”

The P-33 platform operates the Marlim field in the Santos Basin, off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, with a production capacity of 63,000 barrels per day.

Petrobras said it had not been told by the agency about a closure of the platform.

”As soon as we become aware of the decision, Petrobras will immediately adopt the agency's technical recommendations as quickly as possible,” the company said in a statement.

In another incident, a small fire broke out on Wednesday at the Petrobras P-35 platform, also in the Campos Basin, the company reported on Thursday. It said the fire was quickly controlled with no workers injured and no equipment damaged. The company said that fire, which did not affect platform operations, was also caused by a leak in a vapour pipe.

Since the massive BP (BP.L: Quote) spill in the Gulf of Mexico, some environmentalists have raised questions about Brazil's offshore oil industry, operating in increasingly deep waters.

Petrobras and Brazilian authorities say safety standards are strong enough to continue deep water operations without threatening the environment.

However Breda pointed out that “we were right when we said that repairs were necessary on P-33. We have claims that other oil platforms have problems from workers on them, some serious, some less serious, but the fact that P33 operations have been halted for safety reasons is encouraging for the union”.