Chevron suspends Brazil oil output following new spill

US oil giant Chevron announced Thursday it was seeking temporary suspension of production operations off southeastern Brazil after a new spill was discovered.

Chevron said its Brazilian subsidiary requested the temporary shut-in of production at the Frade field as "a precautionary measure" following discovery of "a small new seep in the field."

The Frade field, located 370 kilometers (230 miles) off Rio de Janeiro state, currently produces roughly 60,000 barrels per day.

Chevron said it would conduct a comprehensive technical study and prepare a complementary study to better understand the geological features of the area, working with its partners and seeking necessary approvals from Brazil's National Petroleum Agency (ANP).

The US firm, which has a 51.74 percent operating interest in the Frade Field, said the suspension was endorsed by its Brazilian and Japanese partners in the project.

In November, Chevron was blamed for a major spill in the same area, with ANP calculating that some 3,000 barrels of crude were spilled.

Brazilian authorities as a result suspended all of Chevron's drilling operations and denied it access to huge new offshore fields, which ANP says have reserves that could surpass 100 billion barrels of high-quality recoverable oil.

Prosecutors also announced legal action against Chevron, its Brazilian unit and oil drilling contractor Transocean, seeking $11 billion over the November spill.