RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Nov 19 - Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras said on Friday it found an oil leak on the sea floor in Marlin Sul, which is expected to become the company's main off-shore producing field.
Output was not expected to be affected, Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) said in a statement.
The leak is not from any of the platforms in the region but is located about 50 meters (yards) from the MLS-107 well, which is not yet in operation.
Petroleum consultant Adriano Pires said the immediate impact would be on the environment to a lesser or greater degree depending on the volume of the leak.
But it could eventually delay MLS-107 going on line.
"This is an important question, principally because the output of Petrobras will fall this year, after 14 years of growth," said Pires.
Petrobras accounts for nearly all crude and fuel production in Latin America's largest country.
Petrobras Exploration and Production Director Guilherme Estrella recently said the company would not meet its domestic output target of 1.54 million bpd this year, expecting a fall of up to 3 percent from last year's level of 1.54 million bpd due to delays in putting two new rigs on stream.
As local crude production slipped in the third quarter, Petrobras had to buy more oil on the international market where prices rallied and that boosted its costs.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
