(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- A federal prosecutor in Brazil will file criminal charges Wednesday against executives from US oil major Chevron and drilling-rig operator Transocean, charging the employees with environmental crimes related to an offshore spill in November. A federal judge will decide whether to bring the charges to trial.
A federal prosecutor in Brazil will file criminal charges Wednesday against executives from US oil major Chevron and drilling-rig operator Transocean, charging the employees with environmental crimes related to an offshore oil spill in November.
The prosecutor, Eduardo Santos de Oliveira, said in a telephone interview Monday that after an extensive investigation "there exists information and evidence that criminal conduct occurred" by employees at the two companies before, during and after the November drilling accident that caused an estimated 2,400 to 3,000 bbl of oil to seep from the seabed at Chevron's Frade field.
Transocean was operating the rig responsible for the well where the accident took place.
Some 12 Chevron and five Transocean employees will be charged with environmental crimes that carry potential prison terms of between two and five years, Oliveira said.
A federal judge will then decide whether to bring the charges to trial.
MRC