Shell concerned about employee strike at Brazil’s environmental agency, ETHRWorld

RIO DE JANEIRO: Shell is “concerned” about a strike by employees of Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama that is affecting permitting procedures, the head of the company’s local office said on Thursday.

Cristiano Pinto da Costa told reporters at an event that the company had not been directly affected by the move so far, but that as a partner of state-owned oil company Petrobras in the Mero oil field, it was concerned about upcoming licensing decisions.

Since January, Ibama has been delaying the granting of licenses in Brazil as part of an ongoing dispute with the government over wages and working conditions.

Last week, agency workers called a strike that was authorized in at least 14 states.

According to oil lobby group IBP, the strike will reduce the country’s oil production by around 80,000 barrels per day. (Report by Fabio Teixeira)