Petrobras oil workers strike over pandemic handling

A Brazilian oil labor union will launch an indefinite strike tomorrow to protest state-controlled Petrobras' handling of Covid-19 outbreaks aboard offshore production platforms.

The Sindipetro-NF oil union, responsible for much of the production in Brazil's 750,000 b/d Campos basin, claims Petrobras is not doing enough to protect workers.

"This negligence of the company puts at risk not only our lives, but also those of our fellow workers and families," the union said.

Petrobras has so far only reported minor disruptions in upstream activity because of Covid-19 infections.

"Petrobras refutes the accusation of disrespect for health laws or guidelines. All of the company's actions are based on scientific evidence and determinations from health authorities," the company said of the strike.

As a health precaution, Petrobras reduced staff levels on platforms and adopted a differentiated boarding regime in the first quarter, when total domestic oil production climbed to 2.196mn b/d from 2.135mn b/d in the fourth quarter.

The strike is new Petrobras chief executive Joaquim Silva e Luna's first brush with labor strife. In his 19 April inauguration speech, the former army general spoke of reconciling the interests of consumers and shareholders and valuing oil workers.

By Nathan Walters