Brazil: Government Opposes Oil Exploration At Amazon’s Mouth
By ABr
By Priscilla Mazenotti
Just one day following the Federal Attorney General’s Office’s endorsement of environmental licensing for Amazon River mouth oil exploration, Brazil’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, emphasized the inadequacy of relying solely on technical analyses for decision-making. Highlighting the area’s sensitivity, she championed the opposing perspective advocated by the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA).
“Regarding technical matters, there’s no room for compromise. I cannot offer a different perspective,” the minister stated during her participation in a public hearing within the Senate Environment Committee.
The Federal Attorney General’s Office proposed initiating a reconciliation process among the relevant bodies. However, in light of the technical opinion, Marina Silva explained, “This stems from our recognition of the area’s high sensitivity and our limited understanding of sea currents. We’ve even had incidents where equipment went out of control. It’s important to note that IBAMA issues technical licenses, not political ones, and its role is to evaluate based on technical merits, not to make the process easier or more challenging.”
On Tuesday (Aug. 22), the Federal Attorney General’s Office released technical advice, requested by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, to assess the legal feasibility of Petrobras commencing technical exploration tests in the FZA-M-59 block, situated approximately 175 kilometers from the Amazon River’s mouth.
This technical guidance contradicts a prior one given by IBAMA in May which rejected Petrobras’ request for an environmental license to conduct maritime drilling operations at the site due to identified “technical inconsistencies” for safe operations in a new exploration zone.
The Federal Attorney General’s Office asserts that the absence of the Sedimentary Area Environmental Assessment document should not hinder the environmental licensing process for oil and natural gas exploration projects.
