Will there one day be oil exploration off the coast of Amapa? Since the discovery of a large oil reserve in this area close to Guyana by the Brazilian state company Petrobras, the question of obtaining or not a drilling license from the Ibama Environmental Agency has arisen. In 2023, a first file was rejected, another was presented in 2024. The answer is still awaited. This November 21, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office requested an acceleration of the investigation of the case in order to reach a definitive conclusion.
It could be called the oil of discord as possible oil exploration by Petrobras in the Foz Amazonas basin is raising tensions within the Brazilian government. Marina Silva, the Minister of Ecology, declares herself against this drilling project in this vast area of biodiversity and approves the first technical recommendations issued by Ibama demanding from Petrobras a more complete file on the risks of oil spills in particular. The Minister of Energy, Alexandre Silveira, for his part, is in favor of oil exploration. It is supported by the amapaense political class who consider this project to be a real boon for the economic development of the region.
This November 21, 2024, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office recommended that the environmental agency Ibama request additional documentation from Petrobras in order to reach a final decision on the request for drilling in the deep waters of Amapa. Petrobras is also required to respond quickly to what has been requested of it since 2020.
Estimates of the oil deposit by Petrobras amount to 10 billion barrels, enough to substantially increase the oil company’s reserves by 30%.
In this same area, it must be remembered that Suriname has an oil reserve estimated at more than 750 million barrels and that Guyana, for its part, has reserves of more than 10 billion barrels.
Sources : Portal Amazonia et Diarodoamapa
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