A Brazilian oil workers’ union wants operations halted at four more offshore oil platforms run by state oil company Petrobras for lack of safety, local media reported on Sunday, days after authorities shut down a platform for similar reasons.
Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency, or ANP, last week halted operations of the P-33 platform operating off Brazil’s coast in the Campos Basin, following union accusations that it was unsafe.
The Sindipetro union is seeking the shutdown of the P-25, P-31, P-32 and P-35 platforms, union coordinator Jose Maria Rangel told the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo.
“The problems on those platforms are very similar” to those of the P-33 platform, he said. “The P-31, for example, is known among oil workers by the nickname Junker.”
A Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote)(PBR.N: Quote) representative did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
The company on Thursday reported that a small fire broke out on the P-35 platform in the offshore Campos Basin following a leak in a vapor pipe, though it said the fire was quickly extinguished with no damage or injuries.
The P-33 platform in July suffered a vapor pipe leak that later sparked union complaints and led to the intervention of the ANP. That platform has a production capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd), but was only producing around 19,000 bpd before it was halted, the paper said.
Petrobras produces around 2 million bpd in Brazil, mostly in the Campos Basin. Rangel said around 10 of the 45 platforms in operation in that area are in “a very worrying situation.”
The country’s vast offshore sector, which has become one of the world’s most promising sources of future energy, has come under increased scrutiny since the BP (BP.L: Quote) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is considered one of the worst in history.
Petrobras and Brazilian authorities say safety standards are strong enough to continue deep-water operations without threatening the environment.
Reporting by Brian Ellsworth, editing by Maureen Bavdek
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