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The Environmental Accident With The Oil Pipeline Leak Occurred in the Loreto Region and Caused Great Impact on the Ecosystem of the Amazon River
The government of Peru declared an environmental emergency in the Loreto region on Saturday, 24, after the occurrence of an oil leak from the Norperuano pipeline. The measure taken by the government, after the pipeline accident, will prevail for 90 days.
“The objective is to safeguard the sustainable management of the territories affected by the pipeline, carrying out the corresponding recovery and remediation work to mitigate environmental contamination,” said the note released by Peru.
The measure taken by the government, after the oil leak from the pipeline, aims to protect the health of the residents of that region of the country and also to conserve the natural resources that make up the territory of the Amazon River, affected by the oil.
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According to the federal administration, the area affected by the leak from the pipeline for oil is where artisanal fishing occurs. According to the authorities, this pipeline leak event is based on a sudden occurrence with a significant impact on the ecosystem of the Amazon River, in addition to a high risk to public health.
The Environmental Assessment and Oversight Agency declared that “848,400 m² of body of water were affected by the pipeline leak, which includes 33,600 m² of the flotation channel, 600 m² of an unnamed stream, 154,200 m² of the Cuninico stream, and 660,000 m² of the left bank of the Marañón River.
Local and regional governments will coordinate with the responsible public entities to execute the emergency plan, aiming to minimize the impacts caused by the oil pipeline leak.
More About Oil: At Risk of Exploding, Oil Platform Is Interdicted in Espírito Santo
After an inspection of an oil platform in Espírito Santo, the ANP (National Petroleum Agency) interdicted operations on the FPSO Cidade de Vitória. The unit presents several problems, including risks of leaking hazardous gases at five times higher rates than expected in the project and failures in the communication systems with the on-board population. According to the inspection and interdiction report from the ANP, “several situations of imminent serious risk were identified.” In a statement, the agency further declared that the oil platform, if operational, could pose risks to the city of Vitória of “loss of containment, fires, and serious accidents.”
Oil Platform Interdicted in Espírito Santo and Has No Date to Resume Operations
The inspection of the platform in the city of Vitória was conducted from May 30 to June 3 of this year, with an interdiction notice stating that operations could only be resumed after all the requirements established by the ANP were met.
“The operator (of the platform) may only resume production after proving compliance with the following notifications that were established and authorized by the ANP,” states the text of the inspection report.
According to information on Petrobras’s website, the city of Vitória, in Espírito Santo, is located in the Golfinho field, about 50 kilometers off the capixaba coast, on the coastline between Greater Vitória and Aracruz.
Identified Risks on the Oil Platform in Espírito Santo
Non-Detection of Hazardous Gases: According to the ANP’s interdiction document, about 90% of hazardous gas clouds are not detected by the system installed on the FPSO Cidade de Vitória, Espírito Santo. It is shown that the platform in Espírito Santo uses gas cloud detection criteria different from most oil platforms in the country, and although it is not against the rules, it results in less safe designs, which requires greater efficiency of primary containment, through the guarantee of integrity, which is not happening.
Gas Leak: In 2020, it was identified on the platform in Espírito Santo that “the actual leak rate is five times greater than expected in the project.” This fact was evidenced during the inspection, which presented low integrity and severe corrosion in several pipelines. According to the official estimate, the frequency of leaks should be one event every 1.2 years; however, in the first six months of 2019, there were 3 leaks, resulting in explosions and a flame jet, caused, according to the document, by lack of maintenance and competence.
Communication System: The inspection on the oil platform also pointed out that it was identified that the system of the unit in Espírito Santo is degraded, making it impossible to understand the messages sent after conducting several tests. Some failures were also identified in the amplifiers and in the control room.
The purpose of the alarm and warning on the floating platform, according to the inspection, is to reduce the risks of people on board becoming confused during an incident and taking actions that could put themselves and others at risk.
The solution to this problem on the oil platform in Espírito Santo, according to the document, is one of the conditions for the resumption of production of the FPSO Cidade de Vitória.
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