Brazil oil regulator: Chevron leak not "negligence"

Brazil's oil regulator said Chevron was not negligent in the drilling of a well that caused an offshore oil spill in November, a finding that may help the company to fight criminal charges and an $11 billion ...

The Deepwater Horizon before the April 2010 disaster.

By Power Hedge: In November of last year, a 3,000-barrel oil spill occurred at the Frade field offshore Brazil. This resulted in an $11 billion civil lawsuit against field operator Chevron (CVX) and drilling rig operator Transocean (RIG). Chevron was also fined an additional $110 million by environmental and oil regulators.

Nearly three years after a deepwater well rupture killed 11 men, sank a rig and spewed 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP and the other companies involved are facing their day in court. The trial over the worst U.S. offshore oil spill is set to start Monday morning in New Orleans before a federal judge and without a jury. Few expect the case, seen lasting several months, will be decided by the judge.

By Vatalyst: Chevron (CVX), the fifth-largest integrated oil company in the world and the second-largest in the U.S., scored a victory recently after a judge denied an injunction seeking to bar the company from operating in Brazil after two offshore oil leaks,

BRASILIA (Reuters) - An oil spill off the Brazilian coast in November was not the result of negligence by Chevron or drill-rig operator Transocean, Brazil's oil regulator said on Thursday, providing a boost to the companies and their executives as they face criminal charges.