Brazil battles dozens of coronavirus cases on offshore oil rigs

Modec

15/04/2020 01:08

(Adds details on Brazilian oil industry, union comment)
    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, regulator ANP told Reuters on Tuesday, exposing 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,
which employs tens of thousands of Brazilians and is a key
bulwark of Latin America's largest economy.
    Companies have been girding for outbreaks in the offshore
oil industry, where employees often work, sleep and eat in close
quarters. While isolated cases have been reported in other
oil-producing areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico and the North
Sea, Brazil's offshore fields appear to have been hit the
hardest.    
    Although the impact on production in Brazil has been modest
so far, skeletal staffing is already stalling development in
some of the world's most promising offshore oil fields, adding
to uncertainty as global demand for petroleum dries up.
    The ANP released the coronavirus statistics for the industry
after a request for comment regarding an internal document from
state-run oil firm Petrobras, seen by Reuters.
    That document showed Petrobras had recorded 59 suspected
coronavirus cases and 19 confirmed cases last week among
employees and subcontractors in one deep-sea oil-producing
region, known as the Santos Basin.
    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 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. 
    
    FEARS MOUNTING
    The coronavirus pandemic has heaped pressure on workers
already fearful of losing their jobs, according to conversations
with ten oil workers, executives and union officials, some of
whom requested anonymity as they were not permitted to speak
publicly. As in most oil producing regions, service firms in
Brazil have laid off or furloughed thousands of employees, as
rock-bottom demand for crude makes some oilfields unprofitable.
    Two states at the heart of Brazil's oil industry, Rio de
Janeiro and Sao Paulo, are major coronavirus hotspots, with
nearly 13,000 of the country's more than 25,000 confirmed cases,
according to Health Ministry data on Tuesday.
    The dilemma is particularly intense at private firms, where
workers have fewer labor protections and can be laid off more
easily than at Petrobras, Brazil's largest oil producer.
    One executive at a major, Europe-based oil services firm
told Reuters the company had prevented at least seven employees
from entering its building in the coastal city of Macaé after
exams at the front door indicated they had coronavirus symptoms.
    The firm had collected evidence indicating some employees
were taking paracetamol, a pain and fever medication, to hide
symptoms, he said.
    Adaedson Costa, the head of Brazil's National Federation of
Oil Workers, or FNP, criticized Petrobras for keeping unions in
the dark about the number of coronavirus cases and deaths among
its employees and affiliates. 
    Petrobras said it was in frequent dialogue with business
partners to ensure they were following best practice regarding
the virus. The company added that it had been talking
"periodically" with unions, "evaluating the suggestions received
and reporting the adopted measures."

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