Overview

• The June auction granted exploration rights for 172 blocks spanning roughly 145,000 square kilometres and generated about €178 million in initial bids.
• Around 47 offshore concessions lie at the mouth of the Amazon, while sites near the UNESCO‐protected Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas are also included.
• State‐controlled Petrobras and global majors such as BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, CNPC, Shell, Equinor and Total won licences that officials say will underwrite Brazil’s renewable energy shift.
• Urgewald, Arayara and other NGOs have filed at least five lawsuits challenging the auction’s inadequate environmental impact assessments and the absence of proper community consultations.
• Two pending bills would streamline agribusiness permitting and weaken indigenous land‐demarcation processes, intensifying concerns over environmental rollbacks ahead of COP30.