Oil in Foz do Amazonas could impact 8 countries – 11/11/2023 – Environment

Documents from the licensing process for oil exploration in the Foz do Amazonas basin point to the possibility of oil impact on the coast of eight countries, in addition to two territories in France, in the event of spills. To try to unlock the license, Petrobras, responsible for the project, says it held meetings with authorities from five of these locations in 2022 and 2023, including on-site missions this year.

Modeling and simulations carried out show that, if there is a leak, the oil could reach Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, in addition to French Guiana and Martinique (both French territories) .

The dispersion of the oil would occur towards the Caribbean islands, due to sea currents, with no forecast of touching the Brazilian coast, as shown in modeling carried out in 2015 and 2022. Scientific studies dispute this prediction that there would be no impact on Brazilian territory.

Since 2013, the Ministry of the Environment and Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) have highlighted a need for “intense coordination within the Brazilian State and with countries potentially affected by the projects”.

“The necessary international coordination for the purpose of cooperation in contingency for leaks may have repercussions on environmental licensing deadlines”, cites a 2013 opinion, prepared by a technical group with members of the ministry and Ibama. “It is suggested that coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs begin as early as possible in the sector’s planning process.”

After the opinion, the modeling carried out on worst-case scenarios pointed to the impact of oil heading to the Caribbean islands, in the event of spills.

The MPF (Federal Public Ministry) in Amapá — the well targeted by Petrobras is 179 km off the state’s coast — recommended, in 2018, that there be prior consultation with countries potentially affected by the effects of the project. Itamaraty accepted the recommendation, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Amapá.

A Sheet questioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about what the ministry did about it. There was no response.

In a statement, Petrobras said that there was coordination with the ministry and that it held meetings with authorities from Barbados, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The objective was “to prepare a possible cross-border offshore response in the event of an incident with an oil spill at sea during the exploratory campaign in the FZA-M-59 well”.

There was also a meeting with leaders of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), according to Petrobras. The agency is intergovernmental and brings together different countries in the region.

The meetings took place in 2022 and 2023, according to the state-owned company. In 2023, missions were carried out to Barbados, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, Petrobras stated.

“In these meetings, Petrobras informed the authorities of each country about the exploratory campaign planned for the well and about the modeling of the trajectory of the oil slick in the event of an incident with a spill in the offshore sea”, cites the note. “Petrobras also presented the planned contingency resources, including vessels, aircraft, equipment and specialized personnel.”

Ibama said, in a statement, that it was aware of meetings with representatives from Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and with “agents from the countries most quickly affected by a possible cross-border oil spill”. Petrobras reported coordination made with Itamaraty, according to the environmental agency.

“As Ibama did not participate in these meetings, it does not have further details about the discussions,” he stated in the note. “Its role as a licensing body is to assess whether the measures presented and articulations carried out are satisfactory.” The establishment of prior international agreements on the topic is not a condition for the progress of the process, according to the federal body.

In May, the president of Ibama, Rodrigo Agostinho, followed the agency’s technical opinion and denied a license for Petrobras to drill in the Foz do Amazonas basin. There was a lack of studies that proved that oil exploration will not have an environmental impact, according to Ibama.

“This is not a trivial environmental licensing”, stated Agostinho, who cited in his decision the 2013 technical opinion with the suggestion of “starting coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as soon as possible”.

The state-owned company insists on obtaining the license. After the refusal, strong political pressure within the government began to be led by Petrobras, which expects exploration to begin in 2024, and by the Ministry of Mines and Energy. Minister Marina Silva (Environment and Climate Change) is the central target of pressure.

President Lula (PT) is in favor of oil exploration in the basin and rejected accepting a proposal from Colombia, made by President Gustavo Petro, for Amazonian countries to interrupt new projects of this type in the region. Brazil has already indicated that it will continue oil exploration in the Amazon.

The Foz do Amazonas area is highly environmentally sensitive, as Ibama has pointed out since 2014. The region has very strong currents and extremely broad tidal movements, according to the agency, which could limit or prevent strategies to combat possible oil spills. .

The Rima (environmental impact report), from 2017, points out the existence of reefs “of great ecological, economic and social importance, as they are rich in natural resources and fishing stocks”.

The report, prepared by BP Energy do Brasil, responsible for the drilling project before Petrobras took over the project, cites a “high impact sensitivity” in the case of mammals, turtles, fish, birds and artisanal fishing activities.

Regarding the prediction that any spill would not impact the Brazilian coast, Ibama considers that “the bases and hydrodynamic models have evolved throughout the licensing process, despite there still being margins of error and limitations of the tool”.

Petrobras said that it hired a world-renowned company and that this company used modern systems for models and projections about the possible dispersion of oil at sea, following the requirements of Ibama’s term of reference.

“Two models were carried out (2015 and 2022) and the results indicate that there is no probability of touching the Brazilian coast, with the probability of oil touching the coast of other countries being very remote. Both modelings were approved by Ibama. Ibama’s opinion It also validated that Petrobras’ plan to respond to the emergency is robust,” stated the state-owned company.