MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Brazil’s Petrobras admits second oil spill in less than a week
Brazil's state-run energy giant Petrobras on Tuesday reported that 160 barrels of crude oil may have spilled from a deep-water well off Sao Paulo state but said the situation was under control. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesWhere's the $100 billion public law suit from the government?
Feb 01st, 2012 - 11:46 am - Link - Report abuse 0Wot, not happening? Or does it only happen when the oil company is 'American' or 'foreign'?
Geoff
Feb 01st, 2012 - 12:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I have been through this on the previous leak blog with a Brasilian who claims not, and then stated that Petrobras was fined 100M reals some time ago.
As I said to him, a spill is a spill. They happen to all companies / oprators, as do fires and other catastrophes. To him, Chevron was synonomous with the devil. Those of us who have worked in the industry know they are all the same and it is just a roll of the dice as to who is next. Even the best operators are not immune.
Hi Chris,
Feb 01st, 2012 - 05:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0this must have been my young friend Forgetit.
He is one of the good guys even though we frequently approach issues from opposite ends.
I guess the problem is with fining a nationalised company, that the money just goes from one government department to another, with the usual 10% for 'goodwill'. Then the R$100m have to be replaced out of Contingency, with Contingency being topped up from taxes in the next budget round. No pressure to learn = no learn.
Geoff: absolutely correct and it was Forgetit!
Feb 01st, 2012 - 07:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0There's never been a 100 billion lawsuit against any company in Brazil. As I said to ChrisR in another thread, there were at least 50 small leaks in Brazil in 2010 alone, and I don't remember any of them gaining any media attention. Things have changed only because of Chevron's mega-spill, which leaked, in November 2011 alone, about half of all the oil spilled in the Brazilian coast in 2010. Brazilian media has been given attention to this for the same reason it makes a witch-hunt out of any little 'fact' that can be used to provoke anger at the government. In any event, I've been speaking to Geoff long enough to know he's impermeable to any arguments that go counter to his personal biases. So if he wants to bash Petrobrás and the government, he'll do that, no matter what - he'll even lose all sense of proportion to equate Petrobrás's honest management of a small leaks with the Chevron-provoked natural disaster that the Americans tried to conceal. So instead of wasting my time, I may as well ignore all the “Free Chevron” party that he's preparing over here. Though I'd like to point him to my exchanges with ChrisR: http://en.mercopress.com/2012/01/27/petrobras-admits-oil-leak-off-the-coast-of-southern-brazil
Feb 01st, 2012 - 09:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0From Genius web based info warrior ChrisR:
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 04:44 am - Link - Report abuse 032 ChrisR (#)
Dec 28th, 2011 - 03:07 pm
As I said, my only knowledge of Brasil is web-based. Thank you for you insight, I appreciate that.
Wot, not happening? Or does it only happen when the oil company is 'American' or 'foreign'?
Old kool-aid drinker Geoff, you know well that Chevron (100% private) was fined not because it's a US oil company. Actually Brazil acted like the US that fined BP, but tougher. If you do your homework Geoff, you would read that Petrobras ( A state company that acts private) did not lie/lied about the leak and if Petrobras would be fined, it would not be the first time.
The problem of Geoff is, as usual, his idiotic neo-liberal mindset holds him back.
6 Fido Dido
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 10:17 am - Link - Report abuse 0Almost correct Fido:
'If you do your homework Geoff, you would read that Petrobras ( A state company that acts private)' If I remember correctly from the recent appointment of the first woman to control a petro-chemical business this big Dillma was able to 'appoint her' because Brasil owns 48.6% of Petrobras.
And why the 'From Genius web based info warrior ChrisR: comment? What point are you attempting to make?
The only time I am in Brasil is when I change flights at San Paolo on my way south or back to the UK. So if I were to claim or imply practical knowledge of Brasil I would be lying - this I never do unlike certain LatAm bloggers.
Why are you so negative?
Sorry, Forgetit & Fido,
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 10:41 am - Link - Report abuse 0my typing finger put a 0 on the US$10 BILLION that federal prosecutors are claiming.
This is a civil case as there are limits to compensations to 'criminal' actions. This limit has been already massively exceeded by the Brasilian authorities.
Claims can be as high as the government, state or any other individual think they can get away with; the bigger the corporation the more ambitious the filing of the claim.
The Ecuadorian government are doing the same thing over an ancient claim without accepting their own culpability; all it needs to succeed is a corrupt judge, and this - apparently - they had.
Note:
Brazilian environmental authorities ordered Chevron to pay 50 million reais ($28 million), the ANP also for another 50 million reais, and the Rio de Janeiro state government for 100 million reais. On top of this Brazilian federal prosecutors are seeking 20 billion reais (some $10.7 billion) in damages from U.S. oil supermajor Chevron and Swiss-based Transocean for the November oil spill.
8 Geoff
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 12:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If I were CEO of Chevron I would be thinking whether to stay in Brasil or up stumps and go elsewhere if only for the liklyhood that another spill, however caused or the size of it would result in an even bigger fine.
What is it with the Brasilians, do they spend all the fines they impose restituting the site(s) or does it go to general coffers?
I realise the size of the Brasilian basin find is very large but Shell pulled out of Q'Ebo Terminal, NW Delta 1, Nigeria, because of the troubles with the muslim infiltrators. I got my job with Seaweld Engineering on that site because my predessor was shot to death in the 'safe-house', the one I had to stay in! Interestingly it was Chevron who took it over.
Another lifetime.
For information:
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 07:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The 'Chevron' Frade seepage
Chevron Brasil Upstream Frade Ltda., a Chevron Corp. subsidiary, is the lead operator in the Frade field where the seepage occured, with a 51.7 percent stake.
Petrobras has a 30 percent interest in the project and the Frade Japao Petroleo Ltda. consortium controls the remaining stake.
No court action has been brought against the nationalised Petrobras or the Japanese consorium, even though there is joint liability.
”What is it with the Brasilians, do they spend all the fines they impose restituting the site(s) or does it go to general coffers?” Chris #9
The only use of the US$11 billion so far declared is a statement by Carlos Minc that he will build a park in Rio by the sea.
10 GeoffWard2
Feb 03rd, 2012 - 09:48 am - Link - Report abuse 0Thanks for that Geoff. The park wouldn't be near to where this Minc character lives by any chance? :o)
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