Chevron Could Leave Brazil if it Fails to Uphold Clean-up Standard

Brazil's Energy Minister announced Chevron Corp's presence in his country depends on how well the company complies with the country's laws and cleans up the leak it caused last month.

Speaking to reporters in Teresina, in the northeast of the country on Monday, minister Edison Lobao said the company will have to leave Brazil if it fails to appropriately comply with Brazilian officials, reported The Economic Times.

Speaking to Bloomberg, the minister took a more ambiguous approach, and said his government will see if the U.S oil major will be allowed further drilling rights in the country following the oil leak Chevron caused last month.

Chevron, since the leak started Nov. 8, has maintained it is continuously informing Brazilian officials of developments and the company's clean-up efforts. It also stated last week that it respects decisions made by Brazilian officials and will respond appropriately.

Following the leak, the Brazilian government had ordered a halt to all drilling activities by Chevron, and imposed a $28 million fine on the company. The government also temporarily suspended the company's drilling rights.

Last week, Brazil's oil agency also ordered the company to shut in one of its 11 production wells, as well as four water injection wells, after a safety audit identified the presence of hydrogen sulfide gas.

On its website, Chevron published several photos of the oil sheen on the surface of the water. Dating back to Saturday, the company said the remaining sheen pictured totals less than three barrels of oil. Chevron said that in total, 2,400 barrels of oil leaked into the ocean from the leak.

Chevron continues to assess and abide by the Brazilian government's decisions and fully inform and work with its agencies, including hosting their representatives at our offshore facilities and our Brazilian offices, to ensure our plans and operations in Brazil are in compliance with our license to operate.

The company will absorb all lessons learned from this incident and will act swiftly to ensure that this type of problem is never repeated at any of its deepwater projects in Brazil, or worldwide. The company remains keen on investing in Brazil and sharing in the country's tremendous growth potential and continue with its plan according to our strategy in Brazil, said Chevron spokesperson Scott Walker.

.