After more than ten years of waiting, the Brazilian Environmental Institute (Ibama) authorized Petrobras to begin drilling an exploratory well in the Foz do Amazonas basin, off the coast of the state of Amapá, the neighboring state of Guyana, on October 20. A decision described as historic by local authorities, who see it as a promise of economic development, despite the strict environmental precautions imposed.
The Brazilian media are relaying this information: the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) gave the green light, Monday, October 20, to Petrobras to begin drilling a deep-water exploration well in the Foz do Amazonas basin, off the coast of Amapá.
This decision marks an important step for the northern state of Brazil, which hopes to derive economic benefits from the potential presence of hydrocarbons in the region.
The NS 42 drillship is already ready to go to the Morfo field, where operations will be carried out. The authorization concerns block FZA-M-059, located approximately 500 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon River and 175 kilometers from the coast and the far northern Brazilian city of Oiapoque. This is what Governor Clécio Luís declares, welcoming a “new stage in the economic and social history of Amapá”.
The operation, planned to last five months, aims to assess the presence of oil and gas exploitable on a commercial scale.
The authorization was only granted by Ibama after a series of modifications required from Petrobras, whose first request was refused in May 2023.
Among these conditions were the creation of a Rehabilitation and Depetrolization Center in Oiapoque (AP), the strengthening of the existing structure in Belém (PA), as well as the mobilization of specialized vessels to assist marine fauna and support operations in the event of an incident.
Measures, according to the institute, essential to guarantee the environmental viability of the project, in a particularly sensitive area from an ecological point of view.
For the moment, no oil production is planned : this is only a exploratory phase. This license puts an end to a long administrative process that began in 2014, a year after the block was awarded to Petrobras. Last August, the public company had already carried out an emergency simulation, under supervision of Ibama, in order to test its response capabilities in the event of an accident.
Before considering commercial exploitation, Petrobras will still have to confirm the presence of sufficient oil, prove the economic viability of the field, and obtain a new environmental license specific to production.
Note that this project is part of a larger program called “equatorial margin”, which extends from the state of Rio Grande Do Sul to Amapa, with sixteen exploration drilling planned by 2028, for a total investment of more than three billion dollars.
Read here: Amapa oil project: an environmental risk for Guyana
