Executives from Chevron, Transocean Held in Brazil

BBC: Brazilian prosecutors say they will bring criminal charges against 17 executives from the US oil company Chevron and drilling contractor Transocean after a new leak of crude.

Executives from Chevron, Transocean Held in Brazil

Brazil has barred 17 executives from Chevron and Transocean from leaving the country while an investigation over charges for an oil spill is underway.

A Brazilian federal judge has required the executives to submit their passports to police within 24 hours.

Chevron is facing a lawsuit over an oil spill in November off Brazil's Atlantic coast. And yesterday Brazil said it spotted oil near same offshore field.

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BBC News: Brazil to charge Chevron executives over fresh oil leak

Brazilian prosecutors say they will bring criminal charges against 17 executives from the US oil company Chevron and drilling contractor Transocean after a new leak of crude.

The executives have been barred from leaving the country until the investigation concludes.

Chevron halted production in Brazil after the new oil leak was found on the seabed off Brazil earlier this week.

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Reuters: Chevron executives barred from leaving Brazil over spill

SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO - A Brazilian court on Saturday barred 17 executives from Chevron and Transocean from leaving Brazil, pending criminal charges related to a high-profile oil spill last November.

A federal judge in Rio de Janeiro state granted a request from prosecutors who are pressing for charges against both firms, a spokesman for prosecutor Eduardo Oliveira said in a phone interview. George Buck, who heads Chevron's Brazil unit, and the other 16 executives must turn in their passports to the police within 24 hours, the spokesman said. [...]

The court decision came a day after the Brazilian navy spotted a thin stain of oil extending for about 0.6 mile in offshore field Frade, which was also the site of last year's spill. U.S.-based Chevron said in a statement it halted production at Frade on Saturday after winning permission from Brazilian oil industry regulator ANP.

CNN: Brazil bars Chevron execs from leaving over spill

The oil spill occurred in deep water off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in November.

The next month, Brazilian federal prosecutors filed a suit against Chevron and oil rig operator Transocean for 20 billion reais, about $11 billion.

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