Post-COP28 oil auction is an emissions bomb, says NGO – 12/06/2023 – Environment

The supply of new oil exploration fields in Brazil is a “bomb” of greenhouse gas emissions, highlights a study carried out by the Arayara International Institute.

According to the NGO’s estimates, if the auction is a success and all blocks are auctioned, the total emissions generated from the exploration of the new areas will be greater than 1 GtCO2e (billion tons of carbon equivalent), a volume equivalent to 43.5% of the country’s current emissions.

Greenhouse gas emissions are counted where the fuel is burned. As Brazil exports oil, part of the emissions generated by oil extraction here remains in the quota of other countries.

However, for comparison purposes and to get an idea of ​​the effect on the planet, the volume of emissions generated by the new fields would be equivalent to the same amount that Brazil committed to cutting over the next six years to meet its target in the Paris Agreement. .

Brazil currently emits 2.3 GtCO2e and has the goal of reducing the volume to 1.2 GtCO2e in 2030. In practice, it would be like reaching 2030 being responsible for generating the same volume of emissions as in 2023, even if the gases are not in the country’s inventory because they were “exported” to others.

When contacted, the ANP (National Petroleum Agency) highlighted that environmental bodies speak out before the areas are included in the auction and that the NGO’s study, if formally forwarded, will be evaluated.

“We have demanded a lot of coherence from the government”, says Nicole Oliveira, executive director of Arayara. “On the one hand, he makes a speech about sustainable development and talks about the need for an energy transition, but, the day after the end of COP28, he offers oil exploration blocks in new frontiers, which would not need to be expanded.”

The new batch of fields for exploration will be offered on December 13th by the ANP, the day after the end of COP28, the UN climate conference taking place in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

This Wednesday (6), the study, entitled “Diagnosis of the Socio-Environmental Risk of the 4th Cycle of the Permanent Concession Offer”, was delivered by representatives of Arayara to the general director of the ANP

“It’s a dialogue that has been resumed, because six years ago we were not welcomed at the ANP”, says Oliveira.

Of the 955 blocks that are on permanent offer, the fourth cycle offers 602 blocks and 1 marginal accumulation area, totaling 63% of the blocks that can be auctioned. Because of the significant volume, Arayara is calling the event “the auction of the end of the world”.

The entity’s survey identified that 94.2% of the blocks offered have at least one environmental criterion that requires attention according to the ANP’s own standards.

There is geological risk in at least two areas. One of the blocks is 2.4 km from Braskem’s rock salt mining in Maceió, a closed area that is giving way and at risk of collapsing. In the entity’s assessment, it is clear that there was no adequate analysis, since the risks in that region are great.

Another 11 blocks are superimposed on the oceanic mountains of the Fernando de Noronha marine chain, underwater mountains up to 3,000 meters high. According to the entity, there was no due environmental analysis to include the area in the auction, but the ANP says there is no irregularity.

On November 17, the entity went to court in Pernambuco questioning the auction of the area. The case was sent to Rio Grande do Norte, and the judge requested a statement from the ANP.

The entity that points out that the threat to the soil structure is much greater in this auction, considering that 39% of the offer, which covers 234 blocks and 1 marginal accumulation area, are in areas that could lead to the use of fracking, a technique that uses hydraulic fracturing to carry out extraction.

The process can generate explosions and fires, affect the water table and lead to toxic materials leaking into the soil and atmosphere.

The survey also found that 483 blocks, equivalent to 80% of the supply, are overlapping in a priority area for environmental conservation. There are 366 km² of conservation units at direct risk.

A group of 11 blocks overlaps the mangroves in the southern portion of the Costa dos Corais Environmental Protection Area, a unit between Rio Formoso, on the south coast of Pernambuco, and Maceió.

There are 12 blocks that researchers point out could affect the Abrolhos Archipelago, as they maintain a systemic connection with the area, and also next to iconic regions of the Atlantic forest, such as Parque de Itaúnas, in Pernambuco, the Comboios Biological Reserve, in Espírito Santo, and the Cassurubá Extractive Reserve, in Bahia.

The bidding also takes place in areas under the influence of PAN Corais (National Action Plan for the Conservation of Coral Environments), the pact in favor of marine life on the Brazilian coast. PAN Corais is applied in places where there is a risk to fish and invertebrate species.

Arayara’s research identified that 94 blocks are in areas covered by the plan, with emphasis on the Pelotas basin, on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul, where 72 of the 165 blocks are in this condition. In total, there are 34.9 thousand km^two of corals under the scope of the auction.

The study also accounted for the effect on different communities.

There are blocks within the influence of 23 indigenous lands, 22 of which are in the Amazon biome. Five quilombola territories may also be affected, whose areas are within the limits of 12 blocks to be auctioned. According to Arayara, none of these communities were consulted.

“What we can see is that there are several types of impacts happening at the same time”, explains Vinicius Nora, Oceans and Climate manager at Arayara.

“In the North region, in the Amazon basin, for example, we identified five overlaps, in conservation units, indigenous lands, priority areas for conservation, fracking areas and impacts on threatened species.”

In justice

This Wednesday, Arayara also continued the offensive in the courts. It filed four more public civil actions to request the removal of 39 blocks that affect conservation units. One action deals with the Amazon basin, one with the Paraná basin and another with the Sergipe, Alagoas and Potiguar basins. Another action was filed jointly with two quilombola communities.

Next week there will be two other actions, totaling eight processes. “We will ask for the removal of a total of 77 blocks, 13% of the total, where we identified legal risks”, says Oliveira.

“We hope that the Court understands the issue, and also raises awareness among companies so that they see the risk of investing in an area prone to litigation.”

For Petrobras and experts in the oil and gas sector, however, the energy transition does not exclude oil and gas, and Brazil needs to seek alternatives for pre-salt reserves, which are expected to begin to decline in 15 years. Otherwise, it will depend on imports, which would harm its economic development.

Other side

The ANP stated, through its advisors, that it received a member of Arayara this Wednesday. However, he said that the conclusions of the study carried out by the institute were not delivered.

“Any studies formally forwarded by the Arayara Institute will be analyzed by the ANP”, highlighted the note.

Regarding the areas that are offered, the agency stated that it follows a resolution from the CNPE (National Energy Policy Council) on the topic. The body’s rule establishes that planning for the granting of areas takes into account the conclusions of multidisciplinary studies of environmental assessments of sedimentary basins, says the ANP.

The same resolution provides that, for areas whose studies have not yet been completed, assessments on possible environmental restrictions are supported by a joint statement from the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) and the MMA (Ministry of the Environment).

The note, however, highlights that the approval of the inclusion of the blocks by the ministries in the bidding rounds does not mean tacit approval for environmental licensing.

“All activities that the concessionaires will carry out in the areas will require a detailed environmental licensing process, which will be conducted by the competent environmental agency.”

---

AUCTION RISKS IN NUMBERS

2.4km is the distance between one of the blocks and Braskem’s rock salt mine in Maceió, which is at risk of collapsing

5 quilombola territories are within the limits of 12 blocks. Are they:

• Linharinho, São Domingos and São Jorge (ES)
• Zucchini (AL)
• Ubaranas Stream (CE)

23 indigenous lands are in the area of ​​direct influence of 15 blocks (22 in AM and PA; 1 in SC)

80% of the supply (483 blocks) are overlapping in some priority area for environmental conservation

39% of the fields (234 blocks and 1 marginal accumulation area) are in fracking areas, a technique that uses hydraulic fracturing to extract

15.6% of the areas, involving 94 blocks, are under the influence of the PAN Corais (National Action Plan for the Conservation of Coral Environments)