Petrobras (PBR)

23) Safety, environment and Health (SMS)

During the first quarter of the year 2006, the volume of oil that leaked from the installations of PETROBRAS, in Brazil and abroad, was in the order of 128 m³, which maintains the company, in this aspect, in an outstanding position among the large petroleum companies in the world.

In January, with the presence of representatives of about 600 of the major service providers for Petrobras, the 5th Meeting between Petrobras and its Contractors was held. The meeting served to reinforce the involvement of these companies in SMS issues with a view to accident prevention as per PETROBRAS system practices.

In February, in a research performed by the agency Management & Excellence (M&E), PETROBRAS reached the second position among the 15 largest petroleum companies in the world in grounds of ethics and sustainability. It reached the global percentage of 83,52% in comparison with the average 52,8% of the other companies, which demonstrates the recognition by the public of the seriousness the Company treats the matters of governance, transparency, social responsibility, environmental and relationship with the interest public.

In March, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, PETROBRAS conquered for the second time – the first in 2004 – the prize as the best company of the year in the refinery area. The choice, made by an editorial group and by the consulting company Hart Energy, took into consideration, among other aspects, those related to the impact of the products in environment and the growing concern with the production of more and more clean fuels.

During the first quarter of 2006, the total in Investments and Operations of the company in operational safety, environment and health (SMS) were in the order of R$ 739.392 thousand, not including expenses with medical assistance for the employees and the sponsoring of outside environment projects. In the same period, the Program for Excellence in Environment and Operational Safety Management (PEGASO) received resources in the amount of R$ 303.715 thousand, including R$ 110.780 thousand from the subsidiary Transpetro.