By an OGJ Correspondent
RIO DE JANIERO, Apr. 13-- Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) admitted Thursday the amount of oil that had spilled from the P-7 production platform in the Bicudo field in Brazil's Campos basin was nearly double its original estimate.
In an announcement made with Brazilian environmental authority Ibama, and Feema, the Rio de Janeiro state environmental body, Petrobras said some 25,000 l. or oil, not 13,000 l. as first reported, had leaked from the platform.
The oil company said two vessels specialized in environmental clean-up operations were working to contain spill, which occurred early yesterday morning.
According to Petrobras, the two containment barges are equipped with 300-m containment booms, equipment to recover the spilled oil, and capacity to store over 2 million l.
The P-7, operating in water depths of 210 m, was producing 15,000 b/d from the Bicudo 12 well.
Fernando Carvalho, director of the National Federation of Oil Workers Union said, "In the exploration process small incidents involving valves are common."