The recent leak of 2,400 barrels of crude oil from the Chevron
operated Frade well off the coast of Rio de Janeiro has provoked a
great debate in Brazil and among environmental groups,
international oil and gas companies and the general
public.
The debate is focused on two issues. First, whether the country has
the technical skills to deal with incidents arising from its
rapidly expanding oil and gas activities. Second, whether
Brazilian regulators tend to act with a certain level of bias
against international oil companies.
Incident
The leak is suspected to have originated on 7 November from a
crack in the wellbore on Chevron's exploration well at the
Frade field, caused by higher than expected reservoir pressure.
Chevron mobilised a remote operated vehicle and borrowed sonar
equipment from Petrobras to determine the exact site of the oil
seep.
Vessels were deployed to skim the oil sheen from the ocean surface
without use of chemical dispersants. However, the Brazilian
oil, gas and biofuels regulatory agency (ANP) has raised doubts
about Chevron's handling of the incident and the ability of
other oil and gas companies to deal with a similar leak.
The incident also exposed a lack of coordination between the ANP,
the Brazilian federal environmental agency (IBAMA) and the
Brazilian navy, in addition to the absence of a national emergency
plan.
Penalties
The incident is still under investigation by the Brazilian
authorities, but already IBAMA has fined Chevron USD 28 million.
ANP has initiated administrative proceedings against the company
with the potential for a further USD 56 million penalty, and has
informally required the suspension of Chevron's drilling
program until the investigation is complete. Since the news broke,
the company's shares lost more than USD 14 billion in market
value though have been recovering in recent days.
Chevron officials have alleged that the ANP acted hastily and that
the treatment given to the company by the regulatory agency has
been out of proportion to the damage caused and to Chevron's
response. Media reports have highlighted that operations by
Petrobras have leaked twice as much oil in 2010 alone, amid
suggestions that the Brazilian regulatory agencies have shown an
overly heavy hand against foreign companies.
Implications for the industry
The debate has come at a time when Brazil is preparing for the
geological and technical challenges involved in exploration and
production of the "Pre-Salt"; giant oil fields lying
under a thick layer of salt in ultra-deep water offshore the
Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Espirito
Santo. The country needs to develop contingency plans to
ensure it has the equipment and knowledge to handle even more
significant spills oil leaks in future. There have been calls for
ANP's budget to be increased to enable more effective
supervision.
All oil and gas companies, including Petrobras, are likely to be
required to increase their investment in health, safety and
environmental response plans. One option for either the industry or
the government of Brazil, would be to introduce joint health,
safety and environment (HSE) initiatives to share costs and to
guarantee a minimum level of protection, similar to the UKCS
voluntary oil pollution compensation fund (OPOL) and some of the
activities undertaken by the oil spill response forum (OSPRAG)
which was set up in the aftermath of Macondo.
The question of whether Brazilian government regulators give
harsher treatment to foreign oil companies is harder to answer. ANP
and IBAMA assert that they acted within their powers, and have
spoken out to justify the sanctions applied so far.
The wider impact of the incident should be to ensure that all
players in the Brazilian oil and gas industry, domestic and
foreign, including the government, pay greater attention to HSE
issues to ensure that future challenges can be met.
Co-contributor trainees: Tarsis Goncalves, Lawyer admitted
in Brazil and New York (tarsis.goncalves@cms-cmck.com) and
Als Scrope (als.scrope@cms-cmck.com).
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 01/12/2011.