Chevron and the Frade Oil Leak

Although minute in comparison to the Deepwater Horizon leak in the Gulf of Mexico last year, the leak in the Frade oil field 370km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro has turned that oil field's US drilling operator Chevron into Brazil's version of BP. Though the leak occurred last November, releasing approximately 2500 barrels of oil from 500m under the ocean floor and 1130m under the surface of the Atlantic ocean, Chevron has now been charged by the Brazilian government--forcing the US oil giant to close off its Frade field well, deactivate its oil rig, and face criminal indictments against George Buck (Chevron's head of Brazilian operations) and 16 other Chevron executives. Their passports have been surrendered and they are being forced to stay in Brazil, with the full indictments expected to be announced tomorrow. Couple this with the record $11billion environmental lawsuit being levied against Chevron for the leak and you have a fiasco that must have the oil company's directors regretting their $3billion investment into Brazil.

But Chevron's woes yield a worrying glimpse into the future: if leaks like these are possible at only 1200m below the sea, what happens if and when Brazil taps into the pre-salt oil reserves located at levels twice as deep? Worse still, what does this say about Brazil's oil policy when Chevron gets thumped for spills, but Brazilian national oil company Petrobras--responsible for several deep water leaks--gets away scott-free? As the potential for monumental environmental damage escalates with greater deep-water extraction ventures, Brazil's ability to manage not only the technical aspects of extraction but also the international partnerships required to execute the retrieval of oil must be judiciously aligned.

Pollution and environmental damage have a long and sad history in Brazil. But one of the country's saving graces is the innovative spirit of its people in spite of harsh conditions and blight. New York-based Brazilian artist Vik Muniz captured the essence of this in his 3-year quest to document the conditions in the world's largest landfill (in Rio) and turn it into something beautiful. His resulting film, Waste Land, is a must-see. I had the pleasure of working with Vik many years ago and was reminded of his spirit as I contemplated the current offshore environmental troubles Brazil now faces. Check out the trailer for his film below: