Ibama authorizes Petrobras to explore oil in RN – 10/02/2023 – Environment

The president of Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), Rodrigo Agostinho, signed this Monday (2) renewal of the environmental license for the drilling of two oil wells on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte.

Petrobras’ wells are located in the Potiguar basin, one of the five that make up the equatorial margin, the state-owned company’s main bet to renew its oil reserves after the depletion of the pre-salt, on the coast of the Southeast region.

Ibama’s announcement was made two days after communications from Petrobras and the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) anticipating the decision, which generated criticism in the government’s environmental area regarding the pressure from the oil sector to explore the area.

The license signed this Monday, however, does not indicate a reduction in resistance to activity in more sensitive areas of the equatorial margin, such as the Foz do Amazonas and Barreirinhas basins, for which Petrobras is also requesting a license to drill wells.

The Potiguar basin already has oil activity both on land and in shallower waters, which makes applying for a license easier. To obtain authorization, Petrobras carried out an emergency simulation to adjust the relief infrastructure in case of leaks.

The simulation was approved by Ibama, but the license also includes some determinations for the state-owned company, such as adjustments to the rescue and release program for aquatic species such as manatees. The license also prohibits wells or launching anchors over coral structures.

Petrobras hopes to start the first of two wells scheduled for the Potiguar basin in October, which aim to evaluate an oil discovery made in 2013 and named Pitu. The first well will be drilled 52 kilometers off the coast.

The work depends on cleaning the hull of the drilling rig hired by the state-owned company for the exploratory campaign on the equatorial margin, which was operating on the coast of Rio de Janeiro, where there is an incidence of sun coral, an invasive species.

The license was celebrated by the government’s energy department, which has been pressuring the environmental area to release oil activity in the Equatorial Margin. The MME released a statement on Friday (29) night, celebrating the possibility of “generating more resources for the social fund, for health and education”.

“From this moment on, I am sure that Ibama technicians will be able to dedicate themselves, even more diligently than they have already done, and advance in studies of the necessary conditions for research on the equatorial margin also on the coast of Amapá”, he said Minister Alexandre Silveira.

On Saturday, Petrobras confirmed to Reuters and spoke about its plans for the Potiguar basin. “The expectation is to receive the document [do Ibama] on Monday (2), after completing administrative procedures for its release”, said the state-owned company.

But the process has no relation to Petrobras’ other two environmental license requests for the region, which have already received negative opinions from the environmental agency.

The best known is the request for block 59 of the Foz do Amazonas basin, which is in front of the coast of Amapá. The license was denied by Ibama in May, but Petrobras appealed, saying it understood that it had complied with all the conditions required by the environmental agency.

The Ministry of the Environment argues that, as it is an area that is still unexplored and highly environmentally sensitive, the basin should undergo an AAAS (environmental assessment of sedimentary areas) before granting licenses for oil exploration.

Petrobras is also asking to drill wells in the Barreirinhas basin, which is opposite Maranhão and Pará, also a region without oil activity. In a 2021 opinion, Ibama concluded that oil exploration in the area was unfeasible.