It may take a while, but the license will come, says Petrobras about well in Foz do Amazonas – 07/19/2023 – Environment

Arguing that a recent decision by the STF (Supreme Federal Court) contradicts the position of the MMA (Ministry of the Environment), Petrobras renewed hopes of obtaining an environmental license to search for oil on the coast of Amapá, the target of controversy between the environmental and energy areas of the government.

A Sheet found, however, that the ministry and Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) disagree with the state-owned company’s position and continue to defend the need for a broader environmental assessment of the region before approving the activity.

“The license may take time, but it will come,” said this Wednesday (19), at breakfast with journalists, the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates. “I also believe it will come”, reinforced the company’s Exploration and Production director, Joelson Falcão.

The optimism of the management of the state-owned company is motivated by a decision handed down by the STF in early July, in an action that called for the suspension of an oil auction due to the lack of the so-called AAAS (environmental assessment of the sedimentary area), a study that evaluates in a broader way the impacts of activity in a region.

Alleging high environmental risks in an area rich in mangroves and biodiversity, the MMA wants the study carried out before the release of oil exploration in the basin, considered by the oil sector one of the main bets to renew Brazilian reserves.

Petrobras argues that block 59, where it wants to drill the well, was granted after a joint statement by the MMA and the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) eliminating the need for an assessment. The decision of the STF, he claims, reinforces his argument.

“Our understanding is very simple: this cannot be an impediment”, stated Falcão. The position is supported by the MME, and the company forces the government to call the AGU (Advocacia Geral da União) to mediate the conflict.

The drilling license for block 59 was denied by Ibama in May. Next, Petrobras complied with new requirements from the agency’s technical area, such as expanding the number of vessels available to face an eventual emergency.

Even so, the assessment of the government’s environmental area is that the analysis of the case should not only consider the well in question, but all the risk generated by the development of oil activity in the area. Only Petrobras has requests to license five more wells in Foz do Amazonas.

The basin is part of the so-called Brazilian equatorial margin, a set of five oil basins still little explored, which extend from Rio Grande do Norte to the border with Guyana and gained attention after the discovery of giant oil reserves in Guyana.

“It is important to be clear that, technically, the equatorial margin is the last great Brazilian exploratory frontier. It is something that can change the game”, defends Petrobras’ Director of Exploration and Production.

The company set aside US$ 3 billion in its budget to drill, over the next five years, 16 wells in that region. For block 59, the structure had already been mobilized in 2022 for a drilling test, which was demobilized in May after the license was denied.

The difficulty in approving the well in Amapá should not be repeated in all the basins on the equatorial margin, as Ibama will not require the AAAS to release the activity in areas where there is or has been oil production, such as Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará.

Petrobras has a license request to evaluate the discovery of Pitu, in deep waters off the coast of Espírito Santo, which tends to come out before block 59. Falcão said that the rig for this project has already been contracted and will be mobilized as soon as the license is issued. .