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3d ago

Brazil Grants Petrobras License to Drill Near Amazon Mouth Ahead of COP30

Officials cite strengthened spill-response rules after an earlier denial, with environmental and Indigenous groups preparing to sue.

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Petrobras Exploration Executive Manager Jonilton Pessoa places his bid to explore the Amazon basin during an oil blocks auction by Brazil's Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 17, 2025.
The NS-42 drilling rig, already at the Morpho well, is set to begin drilling immediately. Image courtesy of Petrobras.
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Overview

  • Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama approved Petrobras to drill the Morpho exploratory well in block FZA-M-059, and the company says operations begin immediately and will run about five months.
  • The offshore site lies roughly 500 kilometers from the Amazon River’s mouth at water depths greater than 2,800 meters, and the well is exploratory with no oil production authorized.
  • Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira framed the move as essential for Brazil’s energy sovereignty, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva backs expanding exploration to finance the energy transition.
  • Environmental networks including Climate Observatory, WWF Brazil, and 350.org condemned the approval and said they will file court challenges, warning of risks to reefs, mangroves, marine fauna, and coastal and Indigenous communities.
  • The license follows a contentious process after a 2023 technical recommendation to deny, with Ibama requiring added wildlife-response vessels, new rehabilitation centers including one in Oiapoque, and an emergency-response drill during operations.