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Strategies & Market Trends : Telebras (TBH) & Brazil -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Art Baeckel who wrote (21218)	8/3/2000 7:50:39 AM
From: Art Baeckel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

Brazil Petrobras says river oil spill was human error Reuters Company News - August 02, 2000 19:19 Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Jump to first matched term RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras , which caused the country's worst oil spill in 25 years last month, on Wednesday blamed "human error" for the disastrous pipeline rupture and said it had fired some employees. A total of eight unnamed employees had to leave the company, including two senior superintendents, while three others have been suspended, Petrobras officials told a news conference. "The accident was a very serious one and it involves the company's management -- we want to say loud and clear that this type of accident will not be left without consequences (for company officials)," said Petrobras president Philippe Reichstul. In order to help clear its stained image at home and abroad after a series of leaks and promote "the internationalization" of the company, Petrobras also announced partnership with soccer star Pele, known world-over as "the king of football". "The bad side is really easy to show and everyone wants to know about it. What I have to show is the good side, which is going to be difficult, but will work out," Pele told the same news conference. Under the contract with Petrobras, Pele would promote the company's image abroad for two years, starting with the Aug. 9 launch of the company's shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Reichstul said Petrobras had not yet decided whether it would challenge a record fine of nearly $100 million imposed on the company by the government on Tuesday for the oil spill in the river and a repeated damage to the ecosystem. The state oil firm caused four spills since January. In the accident in question, a broken pipeline oozed 1 million gallons (4 million liters) of crude down the Iguacu River in southern Brazil, contaminating ecological reserves on its banks. And just this Monday, Petrobras reported a new spill of some 270 gallons (1,000 liters) of a toxic fuel additive, known to cause cancer in animals, near Paracambi, a town about 44 miles (70 kilometres) northwest of Rio de Janeiro. Environmental groups say the fine represented only a hiccup in the company's bulging profits and would do little to force it to step up prevention efforts. The spills has tarnished Petrobras' image at home and raised questions in the government about how effective the company is in policing its vast network.