Ibama estimates Petrobras drilling permit decision by year-end
08/21/2024
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Marina Silva — Foto: Brenno Carvalho/Agência O Globo
Brazil’s environmental protection agency IBAMA anticipates a decision on the environmental permit for Petrobras to drill an oil well in the basin at the mouth of the Amazonas River in Amapá by the end of the year. The well is located in Block FZA-M-59, 160 kilometers from Oiapoque, in the Equatorial Margin, one of Brazil’s emerging oil frontiers.
At the same time, Environment and Climate Change Minister Marina Silva said the decision regarding exploration in the Equatorial Margin will be technical and free from political interference.
According to IBAMA’s licensing director, Claudia Barros, the agency is analyzing additional information provided by Petrobras to supplement a wildlife management plan the oil company submitted last year. This review will determine if the plan meets the agency’s requirements before moving forward with the decision-making process for the permit.
The wildlife management plan was one of the main reasons for IBAMA’s denial of the environmental permit in May 2023. Petrobras declined to comment on the matter.
Ms. Barros, who participated on Tuesday (20) in the 1st Environmental Licensing Seminar for Transmission Lines, held by FGV Energia, emphasized that the analysis of the appeal presented by the oil company after IBAMA’s denial was impacted by the strike of the agency’s employees, which ended this month.
She told reporters that if the strike had not occurred, the decision would “probably” have been made. “Without a doubt. There is a backlog of projects; the impact is significant.”
After the analyses, the process will go through the agency’s decision-making instances until it reaches the president of IBAMA, Rodrigo Agostinho. “A position will be released still this year,” Ms. Barros said.
While in Rio de Janeiro to participate in the preparatory meeting for the G20 Social Summit, Minister Marina Silva addressed the comments made by IBAMA’s licensing director.
“The decision on the Equatorial Margin will be a technical one. If the answer is yes, it will be technical. If it’s no, that decision will also be technical. In a republican government, there is no interference like what was attempted in the previous administration in the decisions of IBAMA, ANVISA, and other technical agencies,” said Ms. Silva, citing Brazil’s health regulatory agency.
The start of activities in the region, considered ecologically sensitive by environmentalists, is controversial and pits the environmental and energy wings of the federal government against each other.
When asked if the start of exploration in the Equatorial Margin could harm the image of environmental leadership that President Lula’s government seeks to project at the G20, a group of the world’s largest economies, and at COP 30, set to take place next year in Belém, the minister responded cautiously.
“The debate that is being put forth for global economies is the transition to the end of fossil fuel use. This was a decision made at COP 28, and President Lula delivered the most compelling speech on this issue,” she argued.
Ms. Silva highlighted Brazil’s competitive advantages in solar, wind, biomass, and green hydrogen energy. However, in her view, the decision regarding the strategies for Brazil’s energy transition strategies lies with the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE), which includes representatives from various ministries such as Mines and Energy and the Environment.
“The Ministry of the Environment does not make strategic decisions about whether to explore or not explore oil. The debate that has been taking place is that oil companies should transform into energy companies. And in Brazil’s case, it is no different.”
Claudia Barros from Ibama emphasized that if Petrobras needs to drill new wells in the block, it will have to open new licensing processes. The ongoing licensing process only pertains to the drilling of one well.
At the event, the licensing director described the strike period and negotiations with the government as “difficult” and said she sees the licensing of transmission projects as a result of the agency and the sector maturing through dialogue and “construction,” despite still needing improvements.
“Environmental licensing is a product of the sector; we respond and react to what the sector produces. I do not believe in shortcuts or quick fixes,” Ms. Barros stated.
*Por Fábio Couto, Paula Martini — Rio de Janeiro
Source: Valor International