Authorities in Brazil have spotted another oil leak. On Saturday, the leak was spotted off the off the coast near Rio de Janeiro. This is just the latest in a number of spills that have caused concern about the safety in the development of some of the largest oil reserves in the world.
This leak comes just a few days after a prosecutor in Brazil said he will increase his probe into the oil operations offshore following the 3,000 barrel spill last November in an oil field operated by oil giant Chevron.
The new leak is over one mile long and is estimated to be only the equivalent of 14 barrels of oil. The currents have kept the leak far from the shores of Rio. A test will be performed on the oil Sunday or Monday to determine where its origin is, but experts believe it came from a ship in a route that is heavily traveled by tankers loaded with oil.
The leak was located in the area of the Campos Basin, an area that extracts more than 80% of the nearly 2.6 million barrels of daily output of the country. That area is thought to contain some of the top oil reserves in the world. Because of that, a number of the world’s major producers like Shell, Petrobras, BP and Repsol YPF have all come to try to tap into the reserves.
The leak in November prompted a set of criminal charges against the second largest oil company in the U.S. However, Chevron has disputed the charges against them and drilling contractor Transocean.
