Planalto interceded at Petrobras for licensing at the mouth of Amazonas, says Jornal

The Planalto Palace took the initiative to intercede with Petrobras with the objective of solving the obstacles related to environmental licensing for oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon. The information is from S.Paulo Folha.

According to the newspaper, the main issue revolves around the need for a rescue base for animals that can be affected in case of leakage, a requirement of the Brazilian Institute of Environment (Ibama) for the release of the project.

The state -owned company, which initially planned to use a structure located in Belém, 830 kilometers from the drilling site, is now committed to building a new Oiapoque base in Amapá, closer to the extraction site.

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Since the management of former President Jair Bolsonaro, Petrobras was reluctant to make new investments to ensure the approval of the license, maintaining the idea of ​​using the base in Belém. However, the pressure of the Lula administration, especially the Civil House, led to company reconsider its position.

According to Sheet, The construction of the new base, which will have an estimated cost of $ 150 million, is seen as a solution to meet the requirements of Ibama, which had pointed to the distance from the base as one of the main problems of the project.

Oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon has become a controversial theme within the Lula administration, generating clashes between different ministers, such as Marina Silva, from the environment, and Alexandre Silveira, from Minas and Energia.

While the government advocates the importance of the enterprise to replace pre-salt production production, Minister Marina Silva insists that Ibama’s technical analysis should prevail to ensure the sustainability of the project.

Petrobras is preparing an emergency response structure, including the new Oiapoque base, which will feature vessels and aircraft to rescue animals in case of leakage.

The company believes that, with the new structure, Ibama’s objections can be overcome, allowing the license to drill the new well on the equatorial margin of Foz do Amazonas.

The Lula administration is pressuring that the authorization is granted in the first half before the UN climate conference, which will take place in Belém in November.

The technical analysis of the documentation presented by Petrobras by Ibama is ready in March. If the new base is completed there, the company can perform simulations to test the safety of drilling.