Petrobras executives charged with negligence for oil spill

Prosecutors charged 10 executives of Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), including Henri Philippe Reichstul, the company's president, with environmental crimes and negligence stemming from an oil spill said to be the worst in Brazil's history.

March 8, 2001

2 min read

By an OGJ Online Correspondent

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar. 8�Prosecutors charged 10 executives of Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), including Henri Philippe Reichstul, the company's president, with environmental crimes and negligence stemming from an oil spill said to be the worst in Brazil's history.

A ruptured pipeline from the 226,000-b/d Duque de Caxias refinery at Rio de Janeiro dumped 1.3 million l. (117,000 bbl) of fuel oil into scenic Guanabara Bay on Jan. 18, 2000. The oil slick spread through the Guapimirim mangrove swamp, a protected area and an important spawning ground for fish, birds, and crustaceans (OGJ, Feb. 14, 2000, p. 30).

Petrobras paid a $25 million (US) fine to the Brazilian Institute for Environmental and Renewable Natural Resources after an investigation determined the pipeline was rusty and improperly maintained. Investigators also said Petrobras was too slow in responding to the spill and that the line had caused a spill years earlier.

Petrobras officials at first said only 500,000 l. had been spilled but Reichstul later acknowledged the company underestimated the volume.

If Judge Sandra Meirin Chalu Barbosa de Campos accepts District Attorney Ana Padilha Luciano de Almeida's arguments, then the Petrobras executives will face trial. If convicted, they could be fined and sentenced to jail.