Chevron Brazil Faces Criminal Oil-Spill Charges, Reinstated on Appeal

Chevron and its partners in Frade had to stop producing for about a year and a half. Brazilian petroleum regulator ANP fined Chevron for failing to follow drilling plans, but absolved it of negligence.

"We are confident that once all the facts are fully examined, they will demonstrate that the company responded appropriately and responsibly to the incident and that there is no damage to the environment or risk to human health associated with the incident," Chevron said in the statement.

The ANP agreed on March 31 to let Chevron restart all its production wells at Frade, Chevron said in a statement.

A year ago, the ANP authorized Chevron to start four wells, from which its daily production in February stood at 17,279 barrels of oil and natural gas, about a quarter of 2011 peak output before the spill.

Chevron officials were not immediately available to say how many production wells the company has at Frade.

Chevron is still barred from operating water-injection wells at Frade, which are used to boost reservoir production. The ANP fears such wells may cause oil leaks through seabed fissures.

Chevron owns 52 percent of Frade. Brazil's state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA owns 30 percent and Frade Japao, a joint venture between Japanese trading houses Inpex Corp and Sojitz Corp, owns 18 percent.

(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)


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