Oil leak was caused by holes in the two tanks of the platform ship, which have already been covered. FPSO Cidade de Anchieta will only resume activities when an action plan is approved with the Brazilian authorities

The activities of the FPSO Cidade de Anchieta, which operates in the Jubarte field, on the south coast of Espírito Santo, remain paralyzed due to an oil leak detected on the platform. According to the oil company SBM, responsible for operating the vessel, activities were interrupted on January 22, after finding oil near the ship.

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According to Petrobras and SBM, the FPSO Cidade de Anchieta will only return to operation when an action plan is approved by the Brazilian authorities.

The oil leak was caused by holes in the two tanks of the platform vessel, which have already been covered. According to SBM, two temporary repairs were carried out on the ship's hull to solve the problem, and the situation is under control.

In an overflight carried out on February 09, the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) reported that a small oil slick was identified, with an estimated volume of 7 liters, and that it was only observed in the vicinity of the ship. “There was no touch of oil from the coast, and the simulation does not indicate the possibility of that happening”.

According to the Agency, there is no leak at the moment, “although small features of remaining oil, possibly added to the hull, have appeared”. He also informed that support vessels dispersed the spilled oil. In addition, there is a coastal monitoring vessel.

ANP revokes operating permit for FPSO Cidade de Anchieta

The agency also revoked the vessel's operating permit. “After carrying out the permanent repair, concluding the investigation and submitting studies that configure the return of the unit to a safe condition, the ANP will reassess the status of the permit”, he informed.

SBM Offshore said in a statement that, after identifying the leak, "appropriate anti-pollution measures were taken immediately, which proved to be effective." Still according to the operator, the situation is under control, with two temporary repairs carried out on the hull.

“The FPSO will restart operations as soon as the agreed action plan is approved by the Brazilian authorities,” SBM said. A similar note had been sent by Petrobras on the night of February 09, which, at the time, did not clarify the origin of the leak. Still according to information from the state-owned company, the ship operates exclusively in pre-salt wells, and produces oil and gas from the extraction of the fields of Baleia Azul, Jubarte and Pirambu, in the region known as Parque das Baleias.

The Oil Workers Union of Espírito Santo (Sindipetro-ES) also commented on the incident. For the general coordinator of the union, Valnisio Hoffman, the leak is the result of outsourcing production using chartered companies.

“These private companies have already demonstrated that the priority is the achievement of goals and safety is in the background”, stressed Hoffman. He recalled that on February 11th, seven years have passed since the worst accident that occurred on platforms in Espírito Santo: the explosion of the platform ship Cidade de São Mateus, located in the Espírito Santo Basin, which left nine dead. “The FPSO Cidade de São Mateus was also chartered”, he stressed.

Hoffman also said that Sindipetro-ES will monitor the accident investigation commission to understand the causes and also the volume of spilled oil.

The maximum operational capacity installed in the FPSO Cidade de Anchieta is 100 thousand barrels per day of oil and 3,5 million m³ gas. Its production takes place in a water depth of approximately 1.270 meters and began in 2012.