Thaindian News

Rio de Janeiro, Dec 20 (IANS/EFE) Brazilian officials found oil on a beach in Angra dos Reis, a city in Rio de Janeiro state, and are trying to determine if it came from a spill last week at an offshore oil platform.

Investigators are trying to trace the origins of the oil and Modec, whose Cidade de São Paulo platform caused a spill last Friday, has been notified, Rio de Janeiro state Environment Secretary Carlos Minc said.

Modec initially estimated that 10,000 liters of oil spilled into the Atlantic, but company executive Andre Cordeiro said Sunday the amount of oil that flowed into the sea may have been less than 10 percent of the original estimate.

State environmental officials imposed a fine of 10 million reais ($5.4 million) Saturday on Modec, which said the spill was caused by human error and had been brought under control.

It is “pretty unlikely” that the oil found on Bonfim beach came from the Cidade de São Paulo because it is of a different grade, Cordeiro said.

State officials flew Sunday over Angra Bay, where the accident occurred, spotting two oil slicks, one about 1,500 meters long and 200 meters wide, and another 200 meters by 300 meters.

Modec technicians are working to disperse the slick, officials said.

The spill “is infinitely smaller” than the one that occurred last month at a Chevron Corp. well in the Campos basin, some 120 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Minc said.

San Ramon, California-based Chevron estimates that a total of 2,400 barrels of crude leaked from the well, although Rio de Janeiro state officials say close to 15,000 barrels were spilled.

Brazilian officials slapped Chevron with fines totaling several tens of millions of dollars for the spill.

The environmental impact of Friday’s spill, however, could be “much greater” because it occurred in an area that is “pretty sensitive from the point of view of biodiversity”, Minc said.

–IANS/EFE
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