Brazil Backs Equatorial Margin Oil Research at COP30, Citing Emissions Risks From Abrupt Phaseout

Overview

• Casa Civil chief Rui Costa said in Belém that ending domestic oil production by decree would likely raise Brazil’s emissions, pointing to the country’s lower-carbon crude and use of biofuels.
• Rui Costa publicly defended exploratory work in the offshore Equatorial Margin as part of a transition strategy focused on both production and consumption.
• Environment Minister Marina Silva downplayed the start of research, called a decree-driven fossil exit unrealistic, and urged channeling oil profits into green hydrogen and wind and solar projects.
• Ibama in October granted Petrobras an operating license to drill an exploratory well in block FZA-M-059, roughly 500 km from the Amazon River mouth and 175 km off Amapá.
• Petrobras says the operation seeks geological data to assess commercial potential and involves no production at this stage, and local reporting credits Senate President Davi Alcolumbre with helping clear the license process.