With Over 800 Infected Workers, Petrobras May Face Penalties From the Ministry of Labor

Petrobras Says It Has Conducted About 6,300 Covid-19 Tests Among Its Employees, Service Providers, and Contacts of Suspected Cases

Oil workers from Petrobras refineries and platforms are suffering due to the new coronavirus pandemic. According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, there are more than 800 contaminated professionals, both in-house and outsourced, and there are still 1,612 cases under investigation. 36 oil fields hibernated in Brazil due to the pandemic

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The number, which exceeds cases from states like Mato Grosso (365), Mato Grosso do Sul (283), and Tocantins (303), is being closely monitored by the Public Labor Ministry (MPT).

“We have some ongoing investigations regarding the chartered companies (companies contracted by the state-owned company to operate the platforms) to ensure they apply the same procedures adopted by the state-owned company. If we cannot hold them accountable in a possible legal action, Petrobras must also be held responsible because it is the concessionaire (of the field),” said Flávia Baule, the national coordinator of Port and Aquatic Labor at MPT.

The crowding and confinement of work on Petrobras oil platforms naturally facilitate the spread of the coronavirus among workers, according to experts.

According to the director of the Unified Federation of Oil Workers (FUP), Deyvid Bacelar, “workers of the Petrobras System do not feel safe, from the moment they have to take transportation to their work at the operational units to ensure essential services to the population.”

According to a crew member, who requested not to be identified, he boarded in April and did not undergo testing. At the end of the month, he returned home fearing he had been contaminated by a co-worker with symptoms of the disease. Despite this, he did not get tested as he did not share a room with this colleague. Upon taking the test privately, he received a positive result.

Petrobras says it has conducted about 6,300 covid-19 tests among its employees, service providers, and contacts of suspected cases. Of that total, around 4,000 were rapid tests.

The National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) states that companies “have been establishing contingency procedures for maintaining operations safely and in compliance with regulations, which has been monitored daily by ANP.”