Brazilian Oil Slicks Likely Originated in Venezuela, Report Says
October 09 2019 - 12:28PM
Dow Jones News
By Luciana Magalhaes and Jeffrey T. Lewis
SÃO PAULO -- Long stretches of Brazil's northeastern coast have
been stained by oil slicks since early September, and at least some
of the crude probably came from Venezuelan fields, a report by
Brazilian oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA said, according to a
person familiar with the report.
Petrobras, as the company is known, declined to confirm the
report exists.
Brazilian environmental agency IBAMA said that the crude oil has
been found at 138 different points in nine states, and that
chemical analysis of the black gook indicates it wasn't pumped from
Brazilian fields.
Brazilian legal and military authorities are investigating the
source of the oil, but so far they've declined to say whether or
not the crude originated in Venezuela.
President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday that there were
indications the spill might have criminal origins.
"The volume hasn't been consistent, if it were from a tanker
that had sunk there would still be oil coming out," Mr. Bolsonaro
told reporters in Brasília. "It looks like something was criminally
released."
Tons of crude have already been removed from the sites in states
including Sergipe, Pernambuco and Alagoas, and the clean-up
continues, the president's office said.
At least 10 sea turtles have been killed by the spilled oil, and
more have been sickened, according to IBAMA.
Write to Luciana Magalhães at
luciana.magalhães@wsj.com<mailto:es@wsj.com> and to Jeffrey
T. Lewis at
jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com<mailto:jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com>
Write to Luciana Magalhaes at Luciana.Magalhaes@wsj.com and
Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 09, 2019 12:13 ET (16:13 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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