Lula must arbitrate the impasse caused by the mouth of the Amazon – 05/22/2023 – Environment

The Planalto Palace wants in-depth information on the points questioned by the Ministry of Mines and Energy and by Petrobras in relation to the decision by Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) that denied a request by the state-owned company for oil exploration in the basin of mouth of the Amazon River.

This Monday (22nd), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva did not rule out the possibility of exploration in the region.

“If exploring this oil is a problem for the Amazon, it will certainly not be explored, but I think it is difficult, because it is 530 kilometers away from the Amazon”, stated Lula, in Japan, before leaving for Brazil.

The president should start, this week, a series of meetings with members of the government involved in the impasse, such as ministers Marina Silva (Environment), Alexandre Silveira (Mines and Energy), the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, in addition to by the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, who will also assist in mediating the debate.

In the absence of Lula, who was already traveling to the G7 meeting, Costa already met with Marina last week. At the meeting, she detailed the points on the environmental side of the dispute.

The Planalto Palace, however, wants to gather more studies on the impact and possible risks of oil exploration in the area.

By denying Petrobras’ request, Ibama stated that the safety plans presented by the company are insufficient to guarantee the safety of the enterprise and that an AAAS (Environmental Assessment of Sedimentary Area) was not presented, a study that would demonstrate the possible broad regional impacts of the activity, not restricted only to the area in question.

Therefore, the government considers that more in-depth documents are needed so that Lula can find a solution.

Allies of the president claim that the request for studies does not mean that Planalto will intervene in Ibama, the technical body responsible for the sector, nor that there is a tendency for Marina Silva to be defeated in the dispute.

Lula’s assistants and allies believe that Brazil’s environmental image abroad will have a relevant weight in the government’s internal struggle over oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River.

It will be up to the president to arbitrate in the impasse that has gained political scope.

Ibama’s decision divided the government.

Once the refusal was announced, the leader of the Lula 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.

There were also repercussions within the government. 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”.

The state-owned company, in turn, announced this Friday (19) that it is analyzing the appeal of Silveira’s portfolio and that “it remains committed to the development of the Brazilian equatorial margin, recognizing the importance of new frontiers to ensure the country’s energy security and the resources necessary for a just and sustainable energy transition”.