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Brazilian offshore oil workers go on strike

Brazilian offshore oil workers go on strike

Write: Chance [2011-05-20]
Oil workers in Brazil's Campos Basin started a five-day strike on Monday and threatened to shut down the main crude-producing region of Latin America's largest economy and hottest oil exploration market.

State-run energy company Petrobras made progress getting most platforms to mitigate the effects of the strike and continue producing with emergency staff.

Following are some pertinent facts about Brazil's oil and gas industry:

* Petrobras accounts for most Brazil crude production.

* The strike affected 38 Petrobras platforms in the basin.

* Petrobras says emergency staff has secured production under at all but two of the platforms in the basin.

* Petrobras estimates production is down by 136,000 barrels a day, less than half its earlier estimate of 300,000 bpd.

* Norte Fluminense Oil Workers Union estimates the strike had reduced Petrobras's output by 400,000 bpd.

* The union demands that Petrobras recognize the days that workers travel back to shore from platforms as paid work days.

* Larger oil workers umbrella union FUP meets on Tuesday to discuss a strike to press Petrobras for more profit sharing.

* A five-day nationwide strike of Petrobras workers in 2001 slashed output and forced Brazil to import more oil.

* Brazil churns out around 1.8 million bpd, making it the world's No. 15 producer with around 2 percent of world supply. Most of the output is heavy crude consumed domestically.

* Petrobras said in May that first quarter net imports of oil and products totaled 7,000 bpd, while a year ago it had net exports of 187,000 bpd. It expects to end this year with net exports, marking the third year of self-sufficiency in oil.

* Reserves of 12.2 billion barrels of crude oil make Brazil 17th in the world. Petrobras accounts for most of those.

* Foreign oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Repsol-YPF and Devon Energy Corp are pumping crude in Brazil, which opened its oil sector to competition in 1997. Chevron's off-shore field should start pumping next year.

* Petrobras says Brazil could jump from 17th ranking by reserves and overtake Nigeria, now No. 10 with 36.2 billion barrels, if it and other companies working off the coast confirm more reserves in the subsalt fields.