Petrobras claimed on Friday to have restored some of the daily oil production output that it had lost because of the workers’ strike which began on Sunday, much of it affecting offshore operations.
Brazil’s troubled state oil firm said it had regained control of two “maritime unites” in the Campos Basin but strikers still were in control of 46 other units, which include production platforms, drillships and other offshore oil vessels.
In Petrobras’ announcement it said it had reduced lost output to 115,000 barrels a day as compared 273,000 on Monday. But strike organizers accused the company of again understating the amount of lost production.
The company was able to regain control of the units thanks to court orders forbidding union members from interfering with the work of management contingency teams.
This strike was called by the FUP confederation of oilworkers unions to protest and reverse various austerity measures taken by the company including tightened budgets, asset selloffs, axed investment plans and job cutbacks
Already reeling from its huge debt, the oil-price slump and a vast corruption scandal, the last thing Petrobras needed was more economic damage caused by its own workforce.
