Latest update September 3rd, 2026 10:25 AM
Petrobras completes key test needed for exploration license in Amazon region
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras on Wednesday concluded an emergency drill in the country’s Foz do Amazonas basin, the company and Brazil’s environmental agency said, marking one of the final steps needed to secure a controversial exploration license at the mouth of the Amazon River.
Petrobras considers the drill, a pre-operational assessment which began on Sunday, the final stage of an environmental licensing process it hopes will ensure it obtains a permit to drill an exploratory oil and gas well in the region.
Petrobras said it is now awaiting a “position” from Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama, the body which must approve or deny the license, regarding the next steps. Ibama said it expects to start analyzing the documents over the next few days.
Once the analyses are complete, Ibama said, it will prepare a technical report on whether Petrobras’ proposed emergency plan is feasible. There is no deadline for this next step, it added.
Petrobras said the emergency drill involved more than 400 people, as well as logistical resources such as a dozen vessels, three aircrafts and a drilling rig, which was positioned at the site where the well is to be drilled, in the deep waters of Amapa state, near the mouth of the Amazon River.
The oil industry believes there is significant potential for discovering large oil and gas reserves in the Foz do Rio Amazonas region, based on major discoveries in geologically similar regions such as Suriname and Guyana. However, critics both within government and in civil society have argued against the plan citing environmental risks, notably the impact of potential oil spills on biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest, home to an estimated 10% of all the planet’s known species.
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