AGU gives favorable opinion for oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon

The Attorney General’s Office released this Tuesday (22) a favorable opinion for oil exploration in the Foz do Amazonas basin before a preliminary assessment. For the AGU, “the Environmental Assessment of the Sedimentary Area (AAAS) is not indispensable nor can it prevent the carrying out of environmental licensing for oil and natural gas exploration and production projects in the country”.

The AAAS is an assessment contracted by the government to assess the socio-environmental impact of oil exploration in a given region. The lack of this study was one of the reasons that led Ibama to twice deny Petrobras a license to drill in block FMZ-59, located on the Equatorial Margin, 175 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon River.

The AGU demonstration contradicts the position of the Ministry of the Environment, commanded by Marina Silva. The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, disagreed with Ibama’s understanding and requested, in July, a report from the AGU on the possible licensing of the area. The opinion of the AGU in favor of Petrobras was already expected.

“In addition to establishing the interpretation regarding the waiver of the AAAS for environmental licensing, the AGU also forwarded to the Chamber of Mediation and Conciliation of the Federal Public Administration (CCAF) a request to open an administrative conciliation process between the federal agencies involved in the matter” , said the organ, in a note.

According to the AGU, “the purpose of the measure is to seek a consensual resolution of the other divergent points related to the case, including those raised by Ibama in the denial of licensing on the impacts of overflights on indigenous communities and the fauna protection plan”.