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The recent oil spill off the coast of Rio de Janeiro has been given much coverage in the current media. Chevron now faces a fine to a tune of $28 million for causing the oil spill in Brazilian waters. Brazil's environmental agency stated that the oil company would have to pay many such similar fines for the continuing oil spill in Rio. As the investigation into the leak progresses, there could be more fines imposed if any other violations are found. Carlos Minc, Rio de Janeiro’s state environment secretary stated that Chevron may also have to pay up for the damages in the Atlantic oil spill. Brazilian officials state that the oil spill that occurred in Rio could have been avoided. They alleged that the oil company underplayed the extent of the oil spill and delayed the clean up process almost by ten days. Chevron is also accused of not using appropriate equipment that would have been able to avoid the oil leak. Chevron accepts full responsibility for the oil spill and denies causing delay in reporting and cleaning up of the oil spill. The chief operating officer of Chevron states that it underestimated the pressure of the reservoir well and terms the oil spill as a major accident. The oil spill occurred while Chevron was drilling an appraisal well off the northeast coast of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is expecting to use some of the compensated money for monitoring the waters. The National Petroleum Agency states that more than 110,000 gallons of crude oil may have already reached the ocean floor since its onset from 7th November 2011. The agency could even decide to prohibit Chevron for operating in its waters for a specified time. There have been discoveries of oil in Brazil, in the coming years. If utilised to its full potential, these oil reserves could rank Brazil, among the top five oil producers of the world. However, no open discussions of the perils and hazards of offshore oil drilling have been held till now. The oil industry is a major force driving the world economy today. Fortunes are made or broken by rising prices on oil or falling oil price. Speculation on oil prices is what drives the industry today. However, there seems to be total disregard for the damage caused to the environment by the oil spills in oceans caused by the industry. This seems to be a very high price for the environment to pay for the oil industry’s pursuit of profit. The writer is a knowledgeable writer in oil related fields, who periodically writes articles related to oil prices & indexes and crude oil including tips on investment in oil. Please visit oil.com for more details.
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