Brazil battles dozens of coronavirus cases on offshore oil rigs

Modec

14/04/2020 23:22

(Adds information throughout on coronavirus cases in Brazil's
oil industry)
    By Marta Nogueira and Gram Slattery
    RIO DE JANEIRO, April 14 (Reuters) - There have been 126
confirmed cases of the coronavirus among oil and gas workers in
Brazil, including 74 people who were recently on offshore oil
platforms, industry regulator ANP told Reuters on Tuesday,
revealing an outbreak far worse than previously thought.
    The regulator said via email that as of Monday evening there
were another 897 suspected cases of coronavirus in the industry.
    The ANP released the information after Reuters requested
comment regarding an internal document from state-run oil firm
Petrobras seen by Reuters.
    That document showed Petrobras recorded 59 suspected
coronavirus cases and 19 confirmed cases among employees and
subcontractors in one deep-sea oil basin last week.
    All 19 confirmed cases were located on one ship operated by
Japanese oil services firm Modec Inc  6269.T , according to the
document. The suspected cases were spread among a dozen offshore
and nearby coastal facilities, including 11 suspected cases at a
platform in the prolific Lula oilfield.
    Petroleo Brasileiro SA  PETR4.SA , as the company is
formally known, said in a statement that the company does not
publicize coronavirus cases in order to protect the privacy of
employees and their families.
    The firm added that it had taken stringent measures to
protect offshore workers from the virus. Those include a
seven-day quarantine and monitoring periods before they embark,
as well as evacuation of any offshore workers with respiratory
issues, whether or not they appear to be coronavirus-related.
    Modec also declined to release coronavirus statistics,
citing privacy concerns. It said it quickly evacuated all
employees after a worker was determined to have the coronavirus,
and that it had adopted a series of measures to ensure worker
security, including testing all workers before they go aboard. 
    The previously undisclosed ANP figures and documentation on
Petrobras operations in the Santos Basin, which is responsible
for several hundred thousands barrels per day of oil production,
reveal the scope of contagion at Brazil's offshore facilities.
    Although the immediate impact on production has been modest,
the skeletal staffing has begun to stall development in some of
the world's most promising offshore oil fields, adding to
uncertainty in Brazil's energy sector as global demand dries up.

 (Reporting by Gram Slattery and Marta Nogueira
Editing by Brad Haynes and Rosalba O'Brien)
 ((gram.slattery@thomsonreuters.com; +55-11-95057-1453))