Should Petrobras be Fined $33,750,000 for this Spill?

Based on the precedent that Brazilian authorities have set with the astronomical fines recently charged to Chevron, the answer is yes.

Dow Jones reports on an oil spill from Petrobras’ Osorio terminal…

RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones)–The transportation arm of Brazilian state-owned energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, said Friday that it has completed clean-up work after an oil spill at its Osorio terminal Rio Grade do Sul state.

The spill occurred Thursday morning while a tanker ship was offloading at a single buoy, a loading buoy that is used as a mooring point and interconnect for loading or offloading oil, natural gas or other liquid-fuel products. The leak was estimated at 1.2 cubic meters of oil, or about 7.5 barrels, Transpetro said. In comparison, the November leak at Chevron’s offshore Frade field was estimated to have spilled between 2,400 and 3,000 barrels of oil into the Atlantic Ocean.

Transpetro said it concluded the removal of oil residues from the Tramandai beach in the early morning hours Friday. No traces of oil remain on the sea surface in the area of the spill, Transpetro said, but contingency teams will remain on site to collect any further oil residues that appear.

The company said it has created an internal commission to investigate the cause of the accident.

-By Jeff Fick, Dow Jones Newswires