Petrobras’ license to explore the mouth of the Amazon only depends on the agency’s decision on the location where the oiled bird treatment center will be installed
Negotiations between the Petrobras and the Ibama to enable the environmental license for oil and gas exploration in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, located on the Equatorial Margin, are “advancing a lot“, he said the president of the environmental agency, Rodrigo Agostinho, to Poder360 in this Wednesday (4.Sep.2024).
According to Augustine, the state-owned company is presenting new proposals to reverse the denial of Ibama, which rejected the request to drill the pioneer well in block FZA-M-59 in May 2023. At the time, the agency judged that there was “technical inconsistencies” in the environmental assessment prepared by Petrobras.
“Last year, the decision was rejected. Petrobras appealed, but presented absolutely nothing. Now, it is already signaling new proposals.“, he declared.
According to the Poder360all that remains is for Ibama to decide where the oiled bird treatment center will be installed, a counterpart that Petrobras will have to offer in order to obtain the license.
The center is likely to be installed at Oiapoque Municipal Airport (AP), where the state-owned company will base its support operations.
In the On Friday (Aug 30, 2024), the AGU (Attorney General’s Office) concluded that Ibama does not have the legal authority to reevaluate the airport’s environmental licensing.
Agostinho, in turn, told this digital newspaper that “is clear” that the aerodrome cannot be licensed by Ibama, but that the topic was on the agenda because of the Funai (National Indian Foundation), which was concerned about the impact of air traffic on indigenous communities.
This was the second decision by the AGU that favored Petrobras. The first was the revocation of the AAAS (Environmental Assessment of Sedimentary Area) requirement.
“The question [da licença da Foz do Amazonas] nIt will not be resolved with a legal opinion. It is a technical decision”, declared Augustine.
WHAT IS THE EQUATORIAL MARGIN
The Equatorial Margin is one of the last unexplored oil frontiers in Brazil. It encompasses the entire coastal strip to the north of the country. It has this name because it is close to the Equator. It begins in Guyana and extends to Rio Grande do Norte.
The Brazilian portion is divided into 5 sedimentary basins, which together have 42 blocks. They are:
- Mouth of the Amazonlocated in the States of Amapá and Pará;
- Pará-Maranhaolocated in Pará and Maranhão;
- Barreirinhaslocated in Maranhão;
- Cearalocated in Piauí and Ceará; and
- Potiguarlocated in Rio Grande do Norte.
Petrobras is attempting to drill a well for research purposes in the Foz do Amazonas basin, which, despite its name, is not at the mouth of the Amazon River. The area where the oil well would be drilled is located 500 km away from the mouth and more than 170 km from the coast of Amapá.
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