Petrobras moved a step closer to obtaining a license to drill in an environmentally sensitive offshore region in the Amazon basin after the Brazilian environmental agency approved test assessments made by Brazil’s state oil and gas giant in the area.
Ibama, the environmental agency responsible for issuing licenses for drilling, has approved a pre-operational assessment, the so-called emergency response test, Reuters reports, citing documents it has seen.
The agency, however, has requested that Petrobras make some adjustments to its plans for operations, before a final license can be issued, according to the documents Reuters has reviewed.
Petrobras has been seeking for years to obtain a license to drill in Foz do Amazonas and the wider region known as the Equatorial Margin. Back in 2023, the environmental agency refused to grant Petrobras a license to drill.
Now Petrobras has completed an emergency drill in Foz do Amazonas in a large-scale exercise simulating an oil spill. That’s to test Petrobras’ readiness for such an eventuality ahead of receiving the official go-ahead for exploration drilling in the area. This test is typically the last step before the issuance of an exploration license.
Petrobras believes the Equatorial Margin has a significant oil resource potential, especially in light of recent huge discoveries in nearby regions such as Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname.
Petrobras has earmarked $3 billion for investment, and the drilling of 15 wells, in the Equatorial Margin over the next five years. The Equatorial Margin is set to receive 38% of Petrobras’ total exploration investment of $8 billion.
Petrobras continues to implement its multi-year strategic plan to boost production. Raising oil and gas output is a priority for Brazil, too, the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has acknowledged, despite the goals to reduce emissions.
Lula and other top Brazilian officials argue that emissions reductions and net zero would need a lot of investment, part of which would come from Brazil’s proceeds from oil and gas sales.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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