By Marta Nogueira and Fabio Teixeira
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazilian oil firm Petrobras needs to be granted an environmental license to drill in the sensitive Foz do Amazonas region by the end of April or it will run out of time before the contract with a drilling vessel ends in October, according to a document presented by the government.
The document, which was made public on Wednesday, puts a firm deadline for Petrobras, which has been waiting since May of 2023 for Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama to issue a decision on its appeal to drill in the region off the coast of the northern state of Amapa.
State-run Petrobras has already spent around 1 billion reais ($174.34 million) in the drilling operation, and chartering the vessel costs the oil giant around $400,000 per day, the presentation said.
The vessel is already being prepared for use. Earlier this month, Ibama approved the plan presented by Petrobras for cleaning the ship of corals, a necessary step for it to be moved to the so-called Equatorial Margin, considered the most promising frontier for oil exploration by Petrobras.
Replacing the current vessel with another could further delay the project, according to a source at Ibama with knowledge of the matter, who said a substitute vessel would likely need to be cleaned of corals, which can take “a long time.”
Petrobras did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not ascertain whether the firm can extend the contract.
The publication of the document comes after the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, accused the president of Ibama of not having the “courage” to give the agency’s final position on the environmental license.
In February, Ibama technical staff recommended that the agency deny Petrobras authorization to drill in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, according to sources familiar with the matter.
In May 2023, Ibama denied Petrobras’ request for an offshore drilling license for the region, citing environmental concerns. The oil company appealed soon after and a final Ibama decision is pending.
($1 = 5.7359 reais)
(Reporting by Marta Nogueira and Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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