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| Chevron says 17 ships have been working to clear up the oil sheen |
Brazilian
police are investigating an oil spill in an offshore field operated by the US
company Chevron.
Ships are
working to disperse the slick 120km (75 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro
state, and Chevron says it has plugged the oil well.
Brazil's
Energy Minister Edison Lobao has said the company will be "severely
punished" if it is found to have failed in its environmental
responsibilities.
In recent
years Brazil has discovered huge oil reserves in the Atlantic.
The oil is
leaking from a well in the Frade oil project, 370km (230 miles) off the
Brazilian coast.
Chevron
initially estimated that 400-650 barrels of oil had formed a sheen on the water
after seeping from the seabed near the well.
But the
international environmental group Skytruth said satellite images suggested the
spill was many times bigger.
Brazilian
energy minister Edison Lobao said the spill "was not as serious as had
been announced" and was not moving towards the Brazilian coast.
But he said
Brazil's oil agency ANP was monitoring the situation closely and would apply
the full force of the law.
"If
Chevron is not fulfilling its responsibilities, it will be more severely
punished," he said.
ANP said
underwater images showed Chevron's effort to permanently seal the well with
cement appeared to have been successful, although there appeared to be a
residual flow of oil from the seabed.
"The
slick is continuing to move away from the coast and dispersing, as is
desired," it added.
'Bad faith'
Police
environment experts have been sent on navy helicopters to assess the scale of
the spill.
Green Party
members of the Brazilian parliament have called for a debate on the matter.
MP Sarney
Filho said Chevron appeared to have underplayed the scale of the accident.
"What
has alarmed us is the lack of transparency on the part of the company and the
attempt to minimise the size of the disaster," he told the official news
agency Agencia Brasil.
"This
is a clear demonstration of bad faith," he added.
Chevron
said on Thursday the flow of oil from the ocean floor has been reduced to
"infrequent droplets" and the remaining oil sheen on the surface was
estimated at less than 65 barrels.
"Chevron
continues to fully inform and work with Brazilian government agencies and
industry partners on all aspects of this matter," the company said in a
statement.
In recent
years Brazil has discovered billions of barrels of oil in deep water that could
make it one of the world's top five producers.
So far
there has been little public debate about the environmental dangers of offshore
drilling.
Political
discussion has instead focused on how future oil revenues should be divided
between different states.
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