The Brazilian authorities have suspended all drilling activities of U.S. oil giant Chevron in its territory, following a large oil leak off the southeast coast.
The Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP) announced on Wednesday that the suspension would be in force until an investigation into the offshore oil spill is completed.
The spill started on Nov. 7 at a site about 230 miles (370 km) off the northeastern coast of Rio de Janeiro state. According to the ANP, the size of the slack has already been considerably reduced.
In addition to the suspension, the ANP has also denied authorization for Chevron to drill another well in the area in the pre-salt layer field, which would bring an even bigger risk.
The agency noted that their assessment indicates that Chevron was negligent in the investigation of essential data for drilling in the area as well as in the elaboration and execution of a plan to abandon the well.
Brazil's environmental protection agency said it would fine Chevron nearly 28 million U.S. dollars for the spill. But the company may be punished again if the Brazilian authorities find other malpractices.
Editor: Yamei Wang
English.news.cn 2011-11-24 12:28:39 FeedbackPrintRSS
RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua)
No comments:
Post a Comment