'There is oil, but we don't know how much', says president of Petrobras about discovery in Foz do Amazonas

"There is oil and discovery, we still don't know how much, but we are extremely optimistic about what we are finding here," said the executive, at an event with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). Despite confirming the presence of oil in the region, Chambriard explained that exploration of the well should be completed in the next 15 to 20 days.

"Three more wells are planned for drilling in this region. In addition, there are another five wells in adjacent areas. It is this gigantic exploratory effort that will tell us the real potential of the region", said Chambriard.

Last week, the company had identified the presence of hydrocarbons in ultra-deep waters off the coast of Amapá, based on electrical and indicative profiles in the rocks.

"Today we produce 80% of Brazil's oil from the pre-salt. This pre-salt will have a production peak around 2034, 2035 and, from then on, we need to replenish reserves so that we don't lose our position as one of the ten largest oil producers on the planet", he stated.

The licensing process for the Morpho well was marked by controversies, including a recommendation from Ibama's technical area to shelve the process.

The license was granted in October 2025, under pressure from President Lula, on the eve of COP30 in Belém, which generated criticism from environmental organizations present at the event, who point out a contradiction with scientific warnings about reducing the use of fossil fuels.

"When the COP happened last year, a lot of people wanted me not to declare that I had won the license, they said that the Europeans would be upset, they wanted us to just talk about the end of fossil fuel. I made the decision to announce before the COP that we wanted to protect here", said the president this Monday.

Lula also recalled the history of Petrobras and made references to criticisms in the past that Brazil did not have oil to explore.

"This is the passport to the country's future", said the president, holding a bottle with an oil sample, and remembering the expression that the PT governments had used when discovering the pre-salt. "And when I say that, I'm not denying my fight so that one day we don't need to use fuel."

"We will continue taking care of the environment, 87% of this state [of Amapá] is a reserve and 90% of this territory has practically untouched forest. I got my hands dirty with the pre-salt and now with this one, it seemed like it was already refined," said Lula.

Alexandre Silveira, Minister of Mines and Energy, said that this is a historic discovery.

"Brazil takes a very important step to guarantee its energy sovereignty. No Brazilian can give up its sovereignty and natural wealth to combat poverty and guarantee development," he said.

"The whole world has always been involved in disputes, and Brazil demonstrates with this achievement that it is a country that has everything it takes to be a country of development, sovereignty and inclusion."

The president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil -AP), said he was grateful to President Lula. "Thank you very much for the defense you have done over the last three and a half years, facing everything to defend this project from reaching today."

"We need to recognize those who faced causes that were often contested and criticized, not only by Brazilians who do not understand the importance of having energy sovereignty in our country, but also by those from other countries who insist on protecting it."

The discovery, which is not yet commercial, could be a breakthrough in the search for replenishing reserves as the pre-salt approaches peak production, expected for 2034-2035.

The well is approximately 175 km off the coast of Amapá, in a water depth of 2,886 meters, in the FZA-M-59 block, where Petrobras is the operator with a 100% stake. The block was acquired by the state-owned company in the 11th ANP Bidding Round, in 2013, under a concession regime.

The region is seen by Petrobras, the government and private oil companies as the main frontier for new discoveries in the country, helping to offset the future decline of the pre-salt.

IBP, which represents companies such as Petrobras, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Shell and Equinor, assessed that the discovery reinforces Brazil's prospects for oil and gas production and national energy security.

Interest in the area was also driven by discoveries in Guyana, a region with similar geological characteristics.

The governor of Amapá, Clécio Luís (União Brasil), thanked Lula. "While many are cultivating a bipolar country, we, of different political stripes, set an example of a union that builds and overcomes differences."

"I was questioned about an environmental license ten days before the COP, but I said that President Lula was right, that we would be accused of fraud if the license was granted later."

The government defends exploration as a way of taking advantage of the riches of the Brazilian subsoil; At the COP itself, Lula unsuccessfully proposed measures to reduce fossil consumption.

Petrobras has already requested authorization from Ibama to drill three more wells in the same area (PAD-Morpho, Manga and Crotalus), a request that remains under analysis, with the agency requesting more data, without opposing the extension of exploration so far. The drilling of these additional wells will depend on the results obtained at Morpho.

The state-owned company recorded a net profit of R$52.4 billion in the most recent quarter, an increase of 97% compared to the same period of the previous year, the best result since the second quarter of 2022.

The result was driven by the rise in oil (average Brent of US$ 104, up 54.1%) after the war in Iran and by record production (3.34 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 14%).

The company announced distribution of R$ 17.4 billion in d