A judge in Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil blocked a request that Chevron...and Transocean's...operations in that country be halted following two offshore oil spills...Chevron and Transocean are facing two civil lawsuits in Brazil and upwards of $22 billion in environmental fines after 3,000 barrels of oil seeped from the ocean floor in November 2011. Brazilian prosecutors sought to bar the two companies from continuing their operations in the country...Judge Guilherme Diefenthaeler of the Second Federal Region's appellate division, however, struck down the request for an injunction against the companies, saying it would encroach on the legal authority of Brazil's oil regulator...Chevron has previously denied it was negligent, and announced...it was pleased with the court's decision. [also refers to BP]