Gov’t wants quick license for drilling at mouth of Amazon river
Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira said Tuesday (Sep. 12) that the national environment authority Ibama should speed up the granting of environmental licenses for state-run oil giant Petrobras to drill oil wells at the mouth of the Amazon river. The Equatorial Margin region, in Amapá state, is considered to have great oil potential.
“Ibama should speed up this process so we can no longer waste time diagnosing the real production capacity of the Equatorial Margin for oil and gas and their derivatives,” said Minister Silveira after taking part in an event on wind energy in São Paulo city. The minister urged “greater sensitivity from Ibama’s management on this issue.”
In May, Ibama denied Petrobras’s request to carry out maritime drilling in the Foz do Amazonas basin, the so-called FZA-M-59 block. According to the agency, the decision was based on “a set of technical inconsistencies” for safe operation in a new exploratory area.
The understanding of the technical team that drafted the report is that Petrobras did not submit an environmental assessment of the sedimentary area. This assessment identifies areas where it would not be possible to carry out extraction and production due to the serious risks and associated environmental impacts.
On Tuesday, Environment Minister Marina Silva defended Ibama’s decision regarding oil exploration in the region. “The license was not granted due to shortcomings in the environmental impact study and the solutions presented,” she said during a public hearing in the Senate to debate the issue.
Offshore wind energy
Minister Silveira also said he intends to approve a legal framework for offshore wind energy exploration by the end of the year.
“I have been working directly with the National Congress to finally make progress in the negotiations to establish a legal framework for offshore wind energy,” he stated.
At the next meeting of the National Energy Policy Council, to be held in December, the minister plans to improve the existing rules on the subject, in order to facilitate investment.
“We’re also going to lay the foundations for an action map that will include new regulations and improvements to the existing regulatory framework. We’ll ensure greater clarity for approvals in the transfer of areas at sea and the creation of public policies to promote investment and development of this technology in Brazil,” he added.
