"Before any celebration, what is known is that there are signs of oil, as well as there is a recent history of operational failure in the well itself; there is a departure from climate commitments. It is a risk being sold as an achievement. We don't want oil in the Amazon."
Environmentalists reinforce criticism of oil exploration in Foz do Amazonas
"Before any celebration, what is known is that there are signs of oil, as well as there is a recent history of operational failure in the well itself; there is a departure from climate commitments. It is a risk being sold as an...
The company's statement was celebrated by politicians and the oil and gas industry. But, in addition to still being an unknown – the president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, highlighted that it cannot be said to be commercial –, the supposed discovery once again brings to light the immense environmental risks of oil activity in the region.
- Not to mention the worsening of climate change that this oil – if it exists and is extracted – will cause when it is burned.
- "It is necessary to separate discovery from feasibility.
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The speech by the coordinator of the Oceans front at Greenpeace Brazil, Mariana Andrade, highlighted by SBT News, summarizes the reaction of environmental organizations and civil society to the announcement of the finding of signs of hydrocarbons in the Morpho well, which Petrobras is drilling in the FZA-M-59 block in Foz do Amazonas. The company's statement was celebrated by politicians and the oil and gas industry. But, in addition to still being an unknown – the president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, highlighted that it cannot be said to be commercial –, the supposed discovery once again brings to light the immense environmental risks of oil activity in the region. Not to mention the worsening of climate change that this oil – if it exists and is extracted – will cause when it is burned.
"It is necessary to separate discovery from feasibility. The existence of oil does not mean that its exploration is environmentally acceptable or compatible with the country's climate commitments. Brazil needs to discuss what development model it intends to build, instead of transforming each new discovery into an argument to prolong the era of fossil fuels", reinforced Juliano Bueno, from the Arayara Institute.
Petrobras announced investments of R$3.3 billion in the drilling of four wells in Block 59 (Morpho and three other drillings), Folha and CNN Brasil report. For WWF-Brazil's energy transition specialist, Ricardo Fujii, this figure, together with all the resources necessary to enable the production of fossil fuels in the region (if there is a commercial discovery, it is worth remembering), could be used more efficiently in the advancement of renewable sources. Even more so given projections by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that global demand for oil will reach its peak by 2030 – two to three years before the possible start of oil extraction on the coast of Amapá, according to Magda Chambriard's predictions.
“Our cost-benefit analysis carried out using the federal government's own methodology shows that investing around R$32 billion, which is what it would cost to develop a large FPSO (platform ship) in Foz do Amazonas, this same investment in renewable electrification would generate a positive return of R$25 billion for society”, detailed Fujii.
Furthermore, the expert points out uncertainties in the environmental licensing methodology, which failed to estimate the possible impacts of an oil spill. “The dispersion modeling presented by Petrobras used hydrodynamic data from 2013, although more recent data from 2024 already exists.”
Initially, the oil company presented studies in the licensing process that ruled out the possibility of an oil spill in Block 59 reaching the coast of Amapá and Pará, which, together with Maranhão, is home to the largest mangrove forest in Brazil and the 2nd largest in the world. However, recently DW Brasil showed a new report from Petrobras admitting that the leaked oil could reach the country's coast.
Perhaps that's why the company decided to monitor the northern portion of the Cabo Orange National Park, a Conservation Unit in the far north of Amapá, Folha reports. The 590 km of coastline along which Cape Orange stretches is a giant fish nursery, an area of ??mangroves and forest that guarantees the feeding and reproduction of animals and the survival of thousands of fishermen. The region also contains traditional territories where 12,000 indigenous people from four ethnicities live, whose subsistence depends on the tidal cycle and environmental quality for fishing, hunting and farming.