Foz do Amazonas: Petrobras insists and promises new measures – 05/24/2023 – Environment

Petrobras said, this Wednesday (24), that it will insist on oil exploration in block 59 of the Foz do Amazonas basin, ask for the reconsideration of the denial of the licensing for the enterprise and that, later this week, it will present new proposals for environmental safety.

In a note, the state-owned company promises to expand the support base for fauna, one of the reasons cited by Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) to deny authorization and said that “it is ready to meet additional demands that may remain”.

As shown to Sheet, Ibama also questioned the distance between the emergency support base, which is located in Belém (PA), and the rig, which is located in the ocean in the Oiapoque region (AP). According to the institute’s calculations, the relief vessel for cases of leakage would take 43 hours to reach the rig, while the oil, just ten to reach international waters — the region borders French Guiana.

The environmental agency also questioned the absence of an AAAS (Environmental Assessment of Sedimentary Area), a study that details the environmental impact of the project for the entire region where it is located, not just the exploration area.

Petrobras says that the agreement to insist on the exploration was made this Tuesday (23), after a meeting at the Civil House with the presence of the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, and with the president of Ibama, Rodrigo Agostinho, in addition to the minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, and the company’s president, Jean Paul-Prates.

“The company argues that it has met beyond the requirements laid down in the legislation referring to the bidding process for block FZA-M-059 and that it has fulfilled all the technical requirements demanded by Ibama for the project”, said the company, in a note.

“It is important to emphasize that the Environmental Assessment of the Sedimentary Area (AAAS) is a policy instrument under the shared responsibility of the MMA [Ministério do Meio Ambiente] and the MME [Ministério de Minas e Energia]”, completes Petrobras.

The state-owned company also claims that it will have two boats for emergency assistance, next to the drilling rig, and two more to assist the fauna, along with 100 professionals to assist the animals, in case of an emergency.

According to Petrobras, it is the largest emergency response structure in the country.

“In the reconsideration request, the company will undertake to expand the fauna stabilization base in the municipality of Oiapoque, in the state of Amapá. The unit will work together with the Fauna Rehabilitation and Depetrolization Center (CRD), already built by Petrobras in Belém (PA). Thus, in the remote possibility of an accident with a leak, assistance to the fauna can be carried out in both locations”, completes the company.

Ibama’s refusal of Petrobras caused tension within the Lula government. The leader of the government in the National Congress, Randolfe Rodrigues, decided to leave the Network, the party of the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva. He is one of the supporters of the project.

The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, defended that the company should not give up, reiterating the request to Ibama, “making all the necessary efforts to meet the conditions and prove the suitability of the project for the safe and sustainable prospecting of the area”.