Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) has started an investigation into an oil spill which occurred at an FPSO operated by Petrobras over the weekend.
The incident happened when the P-58 FPSO, located in the Campos Basin, was offloading oil to a vessel causing an oil spill initially estimated at around 188 cu m.
Petrobras attributed the oil spill to a hose rupture at the platform and the offloading procedure was stopped immediately. The company claimed the platform is in safe condition and there was no impact to operations.
“Two vessels are on site to contain and collect the slick. Initial simulations indicate there is no risk that the slick will reach the coast. Overflight with experts are being carried out to evaluate the region,” Petrobras said in a release.
ANP said that investigations will deliver a safety alert for the industry in order to avoid the occurrence of similar cases.
The Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) conducted an inspection of the incident site and found the oil spill expanded to around 2.4km long by 550 metres wide.
The P-58 platform started oil production in 2014 and has a capacity of processing about 180,000 barrels a day.
Ibama said a technical report will determine the extent of the environmental damage and serve as a basis for applying sanctions to Petrobras.
Last month, Petrobras reported another oil spill from its FPSO Cidade de Rio de Janeiro offshore Brazil, resulting in 4.9 cu m of oil leaked into the ocean.
