Chevron unit head able to exit Brazil after paying bail

RIO DE JANEIRO - Agence France-Presse

Chevron Brazil head George Buck can leave Brazil after paying $245,000 bail. AP photo

The head of U.S. oil giant Chevron’s Brazil unit will be allowed to leave the country after posting bail of $245,000 in connection with a major spill off Rio de Janeiro state last year, a court official said Sept 6.

The official said judge Marcelo Luzio Marques Araujo set the bail amount to make sure George Buck returns to Brazil to stand trial “each time he is summoned.” Brazilian authorities had confiscated the passports of Buck and 16 other people linked to Chevron and its driller Transocean following last November’s spill in the Chevron-operated Frade field located off Rio de Janeiro state. Brazil’s national oil regulator estimated that 2,400 barrels of crude were spilled in the November accident, which led authorities to suspend Chevron’s drilling operations and to deny the company access to huge new offshore fields.

In March, Chevron put drilling in Brazil on hold after the spill.

In August, a Brazilian court ordered Chevron and Transocean to stop their oil drilling and shipping activities within 30 days.

 State prosecutors had filed legal action against Chevron and Transocean over the November incident, seeking $11 billion for what they have called “immeasurable” environmental damage.