Explosion on Petrobras P-36 Platform Leaves Sad Memories in the Oil Industry Worldwide to This Day

20 Years After The Explosion On Petrobras’s P-36 Platform, Relatives And Oil Workers Worldwide Suffer From The Memory Of The Shipwreck

The accident that occurred with the explosion on Petrobras’s P-36 platform, in the Roncador field, in the Campos Basin, which happened 20 years ago and killed 11 oil workers, of which only two had their bodies found, left marks on the oil industry worldwide.

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Although there are still irregularities in operations to this day, the accident on the P-36 platform served as lessons learned for oil companies. Safety rules became stricter, even in other countries, and the demand for risk mitigation measures gained importance on the agenda of oilworker unions.

In the last decade, oil companies have been fined R$ 769 million for failures in platform operations by the National Agency of Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).

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There continue to be failures in platforms regarding gas leak detection and the presence of fire. For example, in some of them, the fire-fighting system is unsatisfactory. There are many risks in the processes of platform shutdown and well abandonment.

“Any metal in the sea suffers from the action of nature, it corrodes, the equipment breaks down. We end up improvising, living with what we have. People are at risk”, said a Safety Technician to the newspaper Terra, who requested anonymity, regarding the safety conditions of decommissioned platforms in the Campos Basin.

Petrobras claims to have learned from the P-36. “The company created the Operational Excellence Program for Maritime Units, based on the findings of the accident investigation”, stated its press office. According to the company, emergency procedures and technical requirements for project definition were improved.

Petrobras Has Invested R$ 81.6 Billion In Safety, Environment And Health (SES) Since The P-36 Platform Sank

Despite Petrobras investing R$ 81.6 billion in Safety, Environment And Health (SES) since the P-36 platform sank, the company has not been absolved in the action filed by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and Ibama, which it continues to appeal to this day.

According to the agency’s then-director David Zylberstajn, for the regulatory body, the accident had no consequences, as there was no regulatory failure. However, corrective measures were taken after the tragedy, as is the case in major accidents.

Francisco Duarte, a professor of Production Engineering at Coppe/UFRJ, also believes that accidents like this do not happen suddenly. “They are latent errors. It is useless to look for the causes in the operator (worker). They are process-related”, he assesses.

Privatization And Reduction Of Workforce Increase The Risk Of Accidents In Petrobras’s Refineries, Terminals, And Platforms

“Due to this process of dilapidation of the company, with the reduction of workforce in operational units, both internal and outsourced, we fear an expanded process accident occurring in Petrobras’s refineries, terminals, and platforms”, says the General Coordinator of the Unique Federation of Oil Workers (FUP), Deyvid Bacelar.

Petrobras responded that “the stability control in Petrobras’s own units is carried out by professionals certified by the Brazilian Navy”.

The accident on the P-36 did, however, help to tighten some international rules, such as those from the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), according to Segen Estefen, coordinator of the Submarine Technology Laboratory at Coppe/UFRJ.