By Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Marta Nogueira
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 6 (Reuters) – A fluid leak has halted Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras’ drilling of a well in the environmentally sensitive Foz do Amazonas Basin, the company said on Tuesday.
In a statement, Petrobras said it had identified a leak on Sunday in two auxiliary lines connecting a drilling rig to a well located off the coast of the Brazilian state of Amapa in the north.
“The loss of drilling fluid was immediately contained and isolated. The lines will be brought to the surface for evaluation and repair,” the company said, without providing details on when the drilling would resume.
The leaked fluid is biodegradable, posing no harm to the environment or to people, or to the safety of Petrobras’ operations in the region, the company said.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Marta Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro; Additional reporting by Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Writing by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Matthew Lewis)
