Amapaenses live a mix of hope and fear with the prospect of oil – News of Brazil

Petrobras is awaiting a response to a request to the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) to research the possibility of exploring for oil and natural gas in Foz do Amazonas, in Amapá. Among the main discussions on the topic are the possible environmental impacts in the region located 175 km off the coast of Oiapoque, in the extreme north of Brazil. Metrópoles spoke with residents of the state to understand their point of view and heard reports ranging from expectations of economic and social development thanks to royalties to concerns about what could happen to the region.

In May, Ibama denied Petrobras’ request to drill a well in deep waters on the north coast of Amapá. According to the municipality’s report, the request was rejected “due to a set of technical inconsistencies” in relation to the environmental vulnerability of the region. The environmental authority also requested the presentation of an Environmental Assessment of Sedimentary Areas (AAAS).

Foz do Amazonas is located on the Equatorial Margin, a region where Petrobras believes there is great oil potential.

Residents’ opinion

Born in Oiapoque, Genival Campos, tour guide and French teacher, believes that exploration in Foz do Amazonas could bring great benefits to the municipality’s community if the royalties are allocated to the local city hall and applied in a planned manner.

“If Petrobras were to establish itself in the municipality of Oiapoque, I believe we would have a lot of gains, if we had the royalties to be invested in education and health mainly”evaluates Genival.

However, the tour guide highlights that it is necessary to understand how oil can bring future benefits to the region’s residents. “The problem is afterwards. How will this help us in 30 or 40 years, what will it look like? After extracting the oil, after extracting everything from here. This is a concern.”

Genival states that Oiapoque needs to develop to be able to deal with new workers and tourists who may be attracted by exploration in Foz do Amazonas, as the city lacks basic infrastructure.

“We don’t have quality, because the city hall doesn’t work on this side [do turismo], the service is terrible in restaurants and hotels. We don’t have enough hotels, we don’t have sidewalks, we don’t have schools, we don’t have decent hospitals.”lists Genival.

Oberdan Mascarenhas, former Secretary of the Environment and environmental activist, does not believe that exploration in Foz do Amazonas will bring benefits to the local population.

“What worries me is if there is a leak, but I believe that Petrobras has experts. But mangroves are not beaches, so it’s a very big question mark in our heads. If there is a failure, a poorly done drilling and the oil leaks onto a beach, you arrive with a truck, with a deal, you remove it, whereas in the mangroves you cannot do this”, says Genival.

For Oberdan Mascarenhas, the possible release of Foz do Amazonas clashes with the campaign promises of then presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who announced that his third government would protect the environment.

“I don’t know how the Lula government will deal with this issue, as it signs a pact to reduce carbon emissions and changes in the Brazilian energy matrix and releases exploration”, highlights the former Secretary of Environment of Amapá.

New analysis

Ibama analyzes the new request made by Petrobras. The environmental agency does not have a set time to present a negative or affirmative statement on the issue, but the Brazilian company’s expectation is to obtain a license to drill an oil well in Foz do Amazonas.

Decisions on exploration in Foz do Amazonas are not easy, says Ibama.

In August, the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) presented a favorable opinion to Petrobras’ request for exploration in Foz do Amazonas. The body declared that there is no legal need for Petrobras to present the AAAS.

“AAAS is not indispensable and cannot prevent environmental licensing of oil and natural gas exploration and production projects in the country”said the agency in a note.

Politicians from Amapá, such as the leader of the Lula government in the National Congress Randolfe Rodrigues (no party), claim that exploration can generate economic benefits for the region.

To carry out the exploration, Petrobras intends to use Oiapoque airport as an air base and will build a Fauna Rehabilitation and Depetrolization Center (CRD) in the municipality.

Therefore, the residents of Oiapoque hope that oil exploration in the region will cause great movement in the municipality. According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the place has 28 thousand inhabitants and has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of R$ 17 thousand.

Listen to the population

Senator Randolfe Rodrigues went on to criticize Ibama’s decision to deny exploration in Foz do Amazonas and declared that the local population also needs to be heard about Petrobras’ presence in the region.

“Ibama’s decision against research on the coast of Amapá did not listen to the local government or any citizen of my state. The people of Amapá want to have the right to be heard about the possible existence and eventual destination of our wealth”the politician wrote on social media, at the time of the denial.

In the same vein, Mascarenhas defends that the population be heard and a more transparent discussion with the people of Amapá. “The first [passo] is to make the actions of both parties more transparent, it is not by creating a circus that resolves differences, such as the public hearing promoted by the State Legislative Assembly, in mid-May, together with senators, federal deputies and local politicians, who took a false promise to the local population of fictitious development, creating an expectation of immediate growth in the state and municipality of Oiapoque”.

Metrópoles contacted the city of Oiapoque, but received no response. The space remains open.

Liberation on the Equatorial Margin

The Equatorial Margin is located further north of the country, between the states of Amapá and Rio Grande do Norte. In this region there are five sedimentary basins, Foz do Amazonas, Pará-Maranhão, Barreirinhas, Ceará and Potiguar.

Despite not yet having authorization for exploration in Foz do Amazonas, Petrobras obtained, at the beginning of October, authorization to drill two exploratory wells in the Potiguar basin.

The license for the first exploration in the Equatorial Margin was celebrated, mainly, by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira (PSD-MG). The politician stated that the technicians “they will be able to dedicate themselves even more diligently than they have already done, and advance in the studies of the necessary conditions for research on the Equatorial Margin”.

With information from Maria Eduarda Portela, from Portal Metrópoles

---

Leave your comment

Advertising