Brazil: Chevron can stay

Two oil spills reported by Chevron off the coast of Brazil in about four months won't get the company expelled, an official said. Brazil charged executives from Chevron and rig-owner Transocean with environmental crimes tied to an oil leak off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in November. The government said the companies weren't acting responsibly during their operations at the Frade field. More than 2,500 barrels of oil spilled at the field, which is operated by Chevron, off the coast of Brazil in November. The company mid-March reported a similar incident in the same general area. Brazilian Energy Minister Edison Lobao told Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo that neither spill was large enough to warrant an expulsion of Chevron from the country, Bloomberg News reports, citing the Portuguese-language newspaper. Chevron in an update on the March incident at the Frade project said it was about 2 miles from the site of the November spill. "The first seep incident was related to a pressure kick experienced during the drilling of a development well," the company said. "The second seep, with a sheen totaling less than one barrel, occurred when no drilling was being done."