Progress made on Brazil oil spill

Oil industry regulators in Brazil have approved a plan to plug and abandon a well leaking off the coast of the country, and it appears that efforts to contain the spill have been relatively successful.

An oil spill in the Frade field operated by Chevron was reported a few days ago, with the oil industry giant initially claiming that the slick was most likely to be caused by a natural seep from the sea floor, although they have now admitted it was a drilling issue.

It is thought that some 400 barrels to 650 barrels of oil have created a sheen on the ocean close to the well.

However, Chevron has now released a statement claiming that efforts to contain the spill have been successful and there has been a significant decrease in the amount of oil leaking from the seep lines.

President Dilma Rousseff has announced that there must be a "rigorous investigation" to determine where the responsibility for the leak lies.

Posted by Joseph Hutton