By an OGJ online Correspondent
RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar. 20�Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) said Tuesday the crippled P-36 platform sank and 5,000 l. of crude had spilled but was being blown out to sea by high winds.
Petrobras confirmed the platform was resting on the bottom of the ocean at 1,350 m. The oil spill was described as a "superficial" layer on the ocean's surface.
Irani Carlos Varella, Petrobas executive manager for environment and security, said the P-36 contained 300,000 l. of crude in its risers and 1.2 million l. of diesel fuel in its storage tanks.
The storage tanks might burst because of the water pressure at that depth, Varella added.
He told OGJ Online in a telephone interview that he does not foresee any possibility of environmental damage such as spilled oil or diesel fuel contaminating beaches or mangroves. Prevailing winds are expected to blow any pollution out to sea.
Petrobras had 26 ships on standby at the platform site, some of them with oil spill booms, dispersants, and suction pumps. Bad weather may hamper recovery efforts. Waves of 1.8 m were reported.
Massive explosions rocked the P-36 Thursday, killing 10 people. The accident knocked out a support pillar, but Petrobras officials had said during the weekend that the platform was stabilized.
The world's biggest platform of its kind, a converted semisubmersible rig, shifted suddenly Tuesday and was listing at a 32� angle before it slipped beneath the ocean surface. High winds and rough seas were blamed.
Carlos Aurelio Miranda, a Petrobras spokesman, told reporters, "It's at the bottom of the sea." Petrobras officials were informed at 7:45 a.m. CST Tuesday that the platform had sunk.
The government said Petrobras has been ordered to prepare a report on the sinking in 30 days.
Varella disputed comments by Carlos Minc, a state assemblyman in Rio de Janeiro, that Petrobras lacked the proper environmental licenses to operate in the Campos basin.
"If Minc summons us to testify at the legislature, we will be glad to present all the documentation proving that Petrobras has all the environmental licenses required by Brazilian law," Varella said.
The platform was producing in more than 1,300 m of water in the giant Roncador field in the Campos basin, 80 miles off Rio de Janeiro (OGJ, Sep. 20, 1999, p. 33).
The platform had been producing 84,000 b/d and 1.3 million cu m/d of gas.
Only small work parties of three to five people had gone aboard the platform at any one time, but high seas Tuesday had prompted workers to give up trying to save the platform.
Carlos Tadeu Fraga, Petrobras' southern E&P chief, has said he does not expect the 21 wellheads to break, which would cause a more serious environmental disaster.
The wells themselves were sealed before the platform was evacuated to prevent them from leaking, Petrobras CEO Henri Philippe has previously told reporters.
Engineers have said it will be virtually impossible to salvage the platform because the waters are so deep and because the platform is very heavy.
The modifications to convert it from a rig to a platform added 2,400 tons of steel plus about 5,300 tons of piping and equipment to the unit.
Roncador is a 132 sq km area that holds oil reserves estimated at 3 billion boe. It has the world's deepest offshore producing well�producing 20,000 b/d of crude oil�in 1,853 m of water.
Discovered in October 1996 with the 1-RJS-436 wildcat, Roncador lies in 1,500-2,000 m of water northeast of Albacora and Frade fields.