RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar. 21 -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) said Wednesday it believes the sunken P-36 platform has leaked all 1.2 million l. of diesel fuel and 300,000 l. of crude oil on board and in risers.
The platform, a converted semisubmersible rig, sank in 1,350 m of water at giant Roncador field in the Campos basin, 80 miles off Rio de Janeiro (OGJ Online, Mar. 20, 2001). The platform suffered three explosions Mar. 15, killing 10 people.
Petrobras said none of the subsea wellheads were affected by the accident. The wells were sealed after the blasts and were 10 km from where the P-36 sank.
Irani Carlos Varella, Petrobras� executive manager for the environment, said, "Yesterday we detected 310,000 l. of diesel and crude oil spill from the P-36 platform."
He said all of the 1.2 million l. of diesel in the storage tanks probably has leaked because tanks burst under deepwater pressure, and that the 300,000 l. of crude oil from the risers have also leaked.
Varella said the hydrocarbon slick at the location Wednesday only totaled 11,000 l. "This is due to evaporation caused by the hot weather, the use of dispersants, and winds blowing the oil to the high seas."
Twenty-six ships were at the accident site with dispersants, skimmers, and 32,000 m of booms.
Varella said Roncador field produced a light 31-degree gravity oil. The P-36 was producing 84,000 b/d of crude and was due to process 180,000 b/d in 2004. It was insured for $500 million.
Carlos Henrique de Abreu Mendes, coordinator of IBAMA, the federal environmental authority, said, "At present our priority is to avoid an environmental disaster, but certainly Petrobras will be fined for the oil spill even though I agree with Petrobras that environmental damages will be of small proportions."
Lucia de Siqueira Campos, a marine biologist and professor at Santa Ursula University in Rio de Janeiro, disagreed with Petrobras about the environmental impact. "The oil tends to float, creating a thin layer on the ocean's surface which will block the multiplication of cells, breaking the food chain and killing fish."
Meanwhile, Brazil�s National Petroleum Association (ANP) and the nation�s navy are forming a commission to investigate responsibility for the accident.
ANP has been developing rules and procedures that foreign oil companies operating in Brazil must follow, including risk management, emergency response, and environmental protection.
