Brazil’s Ibama staff recommend against Petrobras drilling in Amazon region

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By Fabio Teixeira

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -The technical staff at Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama recommended that the body deny authorization for Petrobras to carry out drilling in the environmentally sensitive Foz do Amazonas region, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The final decision will be taken by Ibama’s President Rodrigo Agostinho. The agency is under pressure from Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who said earlier this month that “Ibama is a government agency that seems to be against the government” due to its delay in conceding the license to drill.

The license was denied at least in part because there was not a big change in the plan to assist local fauna in case of an oil spill, one source told Reuters.

The document with the recommendation was signed on Wednesday, said the two sources.

Petrobras Chief Executive Magda Chambriard said that she was unsure the news was true during a press conference with journalists on Thursday, as there was no official filing in Ibama’s system.

During an earnings call she told investors that Petrobras believed it was close to obtaining a license as it expects to finish work on a veterinary center that would assist local fauna in case of a spill by March-end.

Ibama did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

In May 2023, Ibama denied Petrobras’ request for an offshore drilling license for the Foz do Amazonas area off the coast of Amapa state, citing environmental concerns. The oil company appealed soon after, but a final Ibama decision is pending.

The offshore site Petrobras wants to drill at is in Brazil’s Equatorial Margin. At the northern end of the area is Brazil’s most promising oil frontier, sharing geology with nearby Guyana, where Exxon Mobil is developing huge fields.

(Reporting by Fabio TeixeiraEditing by Marguerita Choy and Chizu Nomiayma)