Brazil: Oil Dispute Not Affecting Fuel Supply
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Thursday, 17 July 2008 |
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A strike by oil workers from
Petrobras entered its third day, a high ranking government
official said he believes it could end within days. Petrobras
also issued statement stating the dispute would not affect fuel supply.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting
of ministers from the Southern Cone Common Market, or Mercosur,
presidential aid Luiz Dulci said Petroleo Brasileiro SA and striking
workers could reach an agreement "in the next few days." He also
said the strike, which added concerns of further price hikes on
the international market, poses no risk of fuel shortages.
Meanwhile,
state-run oil company Petrobras says production at the rigs off the
coast of Rio de Janeiro state is back to normal thanks to a contingency
plan set in motion as soon as the strike began. "Output at the
Campos basin is totally normalized," Petrobras spokesman Celso Mansur
said. "Contingency workers - supervisors and team coordinators -
managed to get production back to normal."
Oil workers began their five-day strike
to pressure Petrobras to give them an extra day off at the end of each
two-week shift. Union spokeswoman Fernanda Vissen said a new round of negotiations would probably take place this week.
Petrobras issued statement to allay market and consumers on teh supply of fuel.
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