Brazil Crews Use Nitrogen to Keep Oil Rig Afloat
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RIO DE JANEIRO — After working around the clock to save a crippled oil rig, crews Sunday managed to keep its massive platform from sinking, oil company officials said.
Explosions and a fire damaged the rig Thursday, killing at least two workers. Eight others who are missing were presumed dead. The platform is about 80 miles off Brazil’s Atlantic coast.
Environmentalists are worried that the platform could sink, spilling 400,000 gallons of crude oil and diesel fuel into the sea.
Overnight, specialists injected more than 4,100 tons of nitrogen into the waterlogged platform to elevate it, state oil giant Petrobras said.
The next stage involves pumping air into flooded compartments to remove water, the company said.
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