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20 years after the explosion on Petrobras' P-36 platform, family members and oil workers around the world suffer from the memory of the wreck
The accident that occurred with the explosion on the Petrobrás P-36 platform, in the Roncador field, in the Campo Basin, which occurred 20 years ago and killed 11 oil tankers, of which only two had their bodies found, left marks on the oil industry of the All the world.
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Although there are irregularities in the operation to this day, the accident on the P-36 platform served as lessons learned by oil companies. Safety rules became stricter, including in other countries, and the demand for risk mitigation measures gained importance on the agenda of oil workers' unions. .
In the last decade, oil companies were fined BRL 769 million for failures in the operation of platforms by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).
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There are still failures on platforms with detection of gas leaks and the presence of fire. For example, in some of them, the fire fighting system is unsatisfactory. And there are many risks in the processes of paralyzing platforms and abandoning wells.
“Any metal in the middle of the sea suffers the action of nature, it corrodes, the equipment breaks down. We end up improvising, living with what we have. People are at risk,” an Operation Safety technician told Terra newspaper, who requested anonymity, about the safety conditions of paralyzed platforms in the Campos basin.
Petrobras says it has learned from the P-36. “The company created the Operational Excellence Program for Maritime Units, based on the conclusions of the accident investigation,” he said, through his press office. According to the company, emergency procedures and technical requirements were improved when defining a project.
Since the P-36 platform sank, Petrobras has invested BRL 81,6 billion in the area of Safety, Environment and Health (HSE)
Despite Petrobras having invested BRL 36 billion in the area of Safety, Environment and Health (SMS) since the P-81,6 platform sank, the oil company was unable to be acquitted in the lawsuit filed by the Federal Public Ministry and Ibama, from which recurs to the present day.
According to the director general of the agency at the time, David Zylberstajn, for the regulatory body, the accident had no consequences, since there was no regulatory failure. But corrective measures were taken after the tragedy, as happens in major accidents.
The view of Francisco Duarte, professor of Production Engineering at Coppe/UFRJ, is also that accidents like this do not happen overnight. “These are latent errors. There is no point in looking for the causes in the operator (worker). They are part of the process”, he assesses.
Privatization and reduction of staff increases the risk of accidents at Petrobras' refineries, terminals and platforms
“Due to this scrapping process by the company, with the reduction in staff in the operational units, both owned and outsourced, we are afraid of an extended process accident occurring in Petrobras’ refineries, terminals and platforms”, says the general coordinator of the Única Federation of oil workers (FUP), Deyvid Bacelar.
Petrobras responded that "stability control at Petrobras' own units is carried out by professionals certified by the Brazilian Navy".
The accident on the P-36 served, however, to tighten up some international rules, such as those of the Association of Classification Societies (IACS), according to Segen Estefen, coordinator of the Submarine Technology Laboratory at Coppe/UFRJ.
