Petrobras Offshore Drilling Rig Suffers Fire & Drilling Fluid Leak

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, reported a fire and drilling-fluid leak breaking out onboard an offshore drilling rig just northeast of Rio de Janeiro in the Albacora Field.

Following the incident, the platform listed about 3 degrees from normal. The fire was under control rather quickly and the platform was stabilized. None of the 102 crew members aboard the Alaskan Star rig were injured.

Petrobras is launching an investigation into the start of the fire and leak. As a precautionary measure, the well connected to the platform has been closed for security. No oil leaks into the ocean have been reported. However, a small quantity of drilling fluid – used to bore through rock – did leak. No officials have commented on this yet.

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The platform, also known as the SS-39, was built in Japan in 1976 according to Rigzone, and is operated for Petrobras by Brazil's Queiroz Galvao.

The Albacora Field, one of Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras' largest, is in the Campos Basin, an offshore area responsible for about 80 percent of Brazil's oil output.