Maintenance Shutdown at Petrobras Refineries Causes Gathering of Thousands of Workers Across Brazil

Maintenance Shutdowns at Petrobras Refineries Increase Covid-19 Infection Rate Among Company Workers

Petrobras continues to carry out maintenance shutdowns at its refineries across Brazil. During the services at the refineries, thousands of outsourced workers from all locations are hired, increasing the number of infected workers during the services. According to data, at least 10 employees have already died as a result of the new coronavirus.

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Maintenance Shutdown at Refinery in the State of Minas Gerais

The Gabriel Passos Refinery – Regap, operated by Petrobras, located in Betim, in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, experienced a Covid-19 outbreak during the maintenance shutdown. At the refinery, about 900 employees were already working, who then came into contact with more than 2,300 outsourced workers hired by Petrobras to perform services in two units of the plant.

The Covid-19 outbreak at the Petrobras refinery in MG began to show signs in the first week of maintenance, during which 80 employees tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Petroleum Workers Union of Minas Gerais states that 11 workers are still hospitalized, and 5 have been placed in intensive care.

Guilherme Carvalho Alves, director of the Petroleum Workers Union of Minas Gerais, says they asked Petrobras for a gradual approach to maintenance. He further states that while maintenance is necessary and fuel production is essential, it could be handled differently to avoid many cases of contamination.

Petrobras Landulpho Alves Refinery

At Rlam – Landulpho Alves Refinery, located in São Francisco do Conde, in the state of Bahia, workers also requested Petrobras to postpone maintenance. Deyvid Bacelar, current general coordinator of the Unified Federation of Oil Workers – FUP, states that refineries usually interrupt maintenance every three years, but there can be delays.

Deyvid also mentions some rules issued during the pandemic that could postpone Rlam maintenance; however, Petrobras has never wanted to discuss the matter. The rules he refers to were created by the Special Secretariat for Social Security and Labor of the Ministry of Economy, specifically ordinance 15,797, created on July 2 of last year. This regulation states that due to the pandemic, safety inspections of some equipment used in the oil industry may be postponed.

During the maintenance of the Petrobras refinery in Bahia, nearly 4,000 outsourced workers arrived at the site in February. The coronavirus outbreak began that same month when the workers arrived at the refinery, and the union reports that 2 workers have died.

Petrobras Refinery in Paraná

Maintenance at Repar – Presidente Getúlio Vargas Refinery, which has not yet closed its employee roster for the works, has recorded 3 deaths due to Covid-19. The maintenance at the Petrobras refinery started yesterday (12) Monday, and about 3,000 employees are on site.

For the Repar maintenance works, the hired workers arrived in Paraná in February, and since then, deaths from Covid-19 in the country have increased from 1,000 to 4,000.

Alexandro Guilherme Jorge, president of the Petroleum Workers Union of Paraná and Santa Catarina, states that Petrobras only agreed to postpone some maintenance until the next day 26; however, according to the president, this is not sufficient. Alexandro adds that 99% of the scheduled services at the refinery are non-essential and can be postponed.

MME Releases Data on State-Owned Workers Infected with Covid-19

According to data from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 6,000 Petrobras employees have been infected with Covid-19. The company has over 46,000 employees, meaning that 13% of the company’s workers have contracted the virus. According to information from MME, Petrobras had 339 infected employees in quarantine on the 5th. There are another 47 employees hospitalized.

The infection rate at Petrobras is almost double that of the total population in the country. Brazil has approximately 211 million residents, and over 13 million people have been infected, representing about 6% of the total.

The state-owned company reported that it complies with all health procedures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, even during maintenance shutdowns at its refineries, including mask use, provision of hand sanitizers, and daily body temperature measurement for workers.