The president of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), Rodrigo Agostinho, decided to proceed with the analysis of Petrobras’ request to explore Foz do Amazonas, according to documents seen by Reuters, after agency technicians recommended his rejection.
In an official letter, Agostinho requested further clarification from Petrobras regarding the company’s request to explore a well in Foz do Amazonas, on the coast of the State of Amapá.
Last year, Ibama rejected Petrobras’ request to drill the well, but the company submitted a new request, which is under analysis by the agency. Ibama does not have a deadline to judge the appeal.
The letter from the president of Ibama came after a negative opinion from the agency’s technical team, in which it was recommended that Agostinho reject the environmental license and archive the process since the oil company did not present “sufficient elements” that would allow the review of the body’s original suggestion. technical.
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The area is part of the Equatorial Margin, considered by Petrobras to be its most promising frontier for oil and gas exploration. The decision to drill in the region is controversial given the area’s biodiversity and its proximity to the Amazon Rainforest.
In an opinion sent to Agostinho, Ibama technicians argued that Petrobras did not present “a viable alternative that satisfactorily mitigates the loss of biodiversity, in the case of an oil spill accident”.
Even so, the president of Ibama stated in his letter that the advances presented by Petrobras in the preparation of the Oiled Fauna Protection and Assistance Plan (PPAF) “allow the continuation of discussions between the entrepreneur and Ibama”, and added that the state-owned company needs to present the “necessary clarifications”.
