ANP grants 19 oil exploration blocks at the mouth of the Amazon months before COP30
The National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) granted, this Tuesday (17), the exploration of oil blocks at the mouth of the Amazon River to two business consortiums, in an auction criticized by environmentalists, while Brazil prepares to host, in November, COP30, the UN climate conference.
Nineteen of the 47 oil blocks located in the Amazon River basin were sold for R$844 million by two consortiums: one formed by Petrobras and the American company ExxonMobil, and another by the American company Chevron and the Chinese state group CNPC.
In total, only 34 of the 172 blocks offered across the country were awarded in this auction, which generated R$989 million for the government.
Other participating companies included France's Total, Norway's Equinor and Anglo-Dutch Shell.
More than R$1.4 billion in investments are planned for the exploration of all these oil fields, most of which are located in deep waters.
But before that, companies need to obtain the required environmental licenses, a process that can take years.
The deep-water exploration area in the Atlantic Ocean is located near the mouth of this emblematic river, which cuts through the largest tropical forest on the planet, crucial in absorbing greenhouse gases, responsible for global warming.
Also called the “Equatorial Margin”, this area is considered the “new energy frontier” in Brazil.
“It is alarming that more than 40% of the blocks offered in the Foz do Amazonas Basin were sold in this ANP auction,” warned Mariana Andrade, oceanographer and coordinator of the Oceans front at Greenpeace Brazil, in a statement sent to AFP.
A hundred protesters gathered early in the morning in front of the hotel in Rio de Janeiro where the auction was held.
Members of the Arayara collective, including indigenous people wearing headdresses and traditional clothing, displayed a sign with the phrase: “Stop the Doomsday Auction.”
The issue generates tensions even within the state apparatus itself: the Federal Public Ministry had requested the suspension of the auction, considering that it “represents a serious violation of fundamental rights, international commitments and Brazilian environmental legislation”, in the absence of “adequate prior studies” on the impact of oil exploration near the mouth of the Amazon.
Meanwhile, Petrobras is waiting for a license from Ibama to start a mega oil exploration project in the same area in a block whose concession it obtained in 2013.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has shown himself to be in favor of this project, despite criticism from environmentalists, a paradox for the PT member, who wants to lead the global fight against global warming.
“We cannot do without it because it is this wealth, if it exists, that will help us make the energy transition, that will give us money to take care of our forest,” said Lula in February.
“We have to act very responsibly. I don’t want oil exploration to cause any damage to the environment,” he added.
In November, Brazil will host the UN climate conference in Belém do Pará, COP30, the first to be held in the Amazon.
“Brazil already has sufficient oil reserves to meet its internal demand for a gradual energy transition,” WWF Brazil declared on Tuesday.
“The climate crisis demands courageous decisions and public policies that point to the future, not the past,” added the NGO.
As Latin America's largest oil producer, Brazil expects to generate 5.3 million barrels per day in 2030, compared to 4.68 million in April this year, according to official data.
lg/tmo/ll/ffb/mel/rsr/mel/mvv/aa/am
IstoÉ
