Consequences of the CVX oil spill are apparently more severe than originally reported, at least in the eyes of the Brazilian regulator.
Transocean Ltd. (RIG), the operator of the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico and caused the worst U.S. maritime spill, and Chevron Corp. (CVX) may be banned from deep- water drilling in Brazil after an oil leak.
Chevron, which was fined 50 million reais ($28 million) by Brazilian environmental authorities, may lose the right to develop deep-water fields there and be ordered to pay as much as 100 million reais to the regulator, Haroldo Lima, the head of the agency, said. The regulator may also ban Transocean, Lima said. Rio de Janeiro state may claim another 100 million reais in damage, Rio Environment Secretary Carlos Minc said.
“If we have reasons to do this, we will,” Lima told reporters in Sao Paulo today, referring to a possible downgrade of the “class A” status that allows Chevron to drill in deep water. “It will depend on a detailed analysis.”
Drilling at Chevron’s Frade project in the Campos Basin off Rio’s coast triggered a leak of as much as 3,000 barrels in eight days, Lima said. The spill followed a surge of pressure from an oil reservoir on Nov. 7, George Buck, San Ramon, California-based Chevron’s head of operations in Brazil, said in Rio yesterday.<snip>
