Chevron Monday said it had not been informed of the decision by a Rio de Janeiro judge to prevent 17 Chevron and Transocean executives from leaving Brazil in a move linked to the oil spill in the country's Frade field last November.
"Neither Chevron Brasil nor its executives have been formally notified of any action by the judiciary yet," the company said in a statement. "Any legal decision will be abided by the company and its employees. We will defend the company and its employees."
The decision by Judge Vlamir Magalhaes late Friday prohibits 17 Chevron and Transocean executives allegedly involved in the Frade field spill from leaving Brazil.
"Because if they leave the country, they wouldn't be able to respond to the case," a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors at Rio de Janeiro's Public Ministry, said Monday.
The 17 named include George Buck, CEO of Chevron Brazil, along with holders of Brazilian, Canadian, French, Australian, American and British passports.
A Transocean spokesman could not be reached for comment.
The ruling came after a "precautionary measure" action was brought by federal prosecutors in Rio. The spokeswoman for the federal prosecutors said the decision to enter the precautionary measure was influenced by revelations of a new Chevron leak in the same area, and the company's announcement, both March 15, that it was going suspend operations in Brazil.
Prosecutors, referring to the November spill, said Chevron "played a leading role in one of the biggest ecological disasters that has been news in Brazil, being just one of the many that can be found in the history of Chevron operations in various countries."
An estimated 2,400 barrels of oil were spilled during the November leak, which occurred at the SEDCO 706 platform. Chevron has already been fined 50 million reals ($27.65 million) by Ibama, the Brazilian environmental agency, and three more fines are being deliberated by the National Petroleum Agency, the ANP.
In addition to Chevron's George Buck, the detention also affects Transocean Brazil CEO Guilherme Coelho, Transocean drilling manager Brian Mara, Transocean's offshore superintendent Gary Slaney, and Chevron drilling manager Erick Emerson. All are prohibited from leaving Brazil.
"Such individuals apparently possess foreign nationality or economic conditions and palpable motives to want to leave the country," Magalhaes said in his decision.
The measure was brought by Eduardo Oliveira, a prosecutor from Campos dos Goytacazes, who in December launched a 20 billion reals ($11.06 billion) civil action against Chevon and Transocean.
