João Paulo Capobianco, nº 2 of the Environment, says that risk analysis in the region “takes time” as there is no accumulated data
The executive secretary of the Ministry of Environment, João Paulo Capobianco, said that the “high risk” Environmental protection does not prevent exploration in the Equatorial Margin, as long as the measures to reduce the impact are rigorous.
“Drilling activity being high risk does not mean it cannot happen, but mitigation measures need to be severe”declared Capobianco in an interview with the newspaper The globe published on Monday (5.Feb.2024).
According to Capobianco, the risk analysis in the Foz do Amazonas region “takes time” as it does not have previously accumulated data and is a new exploration site.
Petrobras expects the Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) analyze a resource that allows block drilling in other areas of Foz do Amazonas.
At the end of September, Ibama granted the 1st license to the Equatorial Margin. The authorization refers to the drilling of 2 blocks in the Potiguar Basin, on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte. Prates stated that there was a reversal of the order of priority, since this process would be easier than that of the Foz do Amazonas Basin.
DRILLING
The FZA-M-59 block, which had its license denied by Ibama in May, has potential to house 5.6 billion barrels of oil, according to studies already carried out by Petrobras. This is a possible increase of 37% in Brazilian oil reserves, currently at 14.8 billion barrels.
Although it is located in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, the block It is not close to the mouth of the Amazon River. The area where the oil well would be drilled is 500 km away from the mouth and around 170 km from Oiapoque, in Amapá.
The Equatorial Margin comprises the entire coastal strip to the north of the country. It got its name because it is close to the Equator. It starts in Guyana and extends to Rio Grande do Norte. The Brazilian portion is divided into 5 sedimentary basins, which together have 42 blocks.
Are they:
- Foz do Amazonaslocated in the States of Amapá and Pará;
- Pará-Maranhãolocated in Pará and Maranhão;
- Barreirinhaslocated in Maranhão;
- Cearálocated in Piauí and Ceará;
- Potiguarlocated in Rio Grande do Norte.
Read more about exploring the Equatorial Margin:
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