The case now returns to the 10th Federal Criminal Court in Rio de Janeiro. That court threw out the case in January 2013 shortly after Chevron agreed to about $150 million in remedial actions and signed an adjustment-of-conduct accord with prosecutors and Brazil's environment agency over the spill.
The spill in the Frade field northeast of Rio de Janeiro leaked an estimated 4,600 barrels of oil into the ocean, less than 1 percent of the giant and deadly Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
The spill that Brazil's petroleum regulator said had caused no discernible environmental damage, injuries or deaths was also the subject of a controversial civil lawsuit seeking nearly $20 billion in damages. Prosecutors dropped that case in October.
Chevron and its partners in Frade had to stop producing for about a year and a half. Brazilian petroleum regulator ANP fined Chevron for failing to follow drilling plans, but absolved it of negligence.
"We are confident that once all the facts are fully examined, they will demonstrate that the company responded appropriately and responsibly to the incident and that there is no damage to the environment or risk to human health associated with the incident," Chevron said in the statement.
The ANP agreed on March 31 to let Chevron restart all its production wells at Frade, Chevron said in a statement.