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The MPF Recommended That ANP Suspend the Auction of 47 Blocks in the Mouth of the Amazon River, Citing Environmental Risks and Lack of Prior Studies, Highlighting the Need for Greater Caution in Exploration of the Region.
The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) issued a formal recommendation for the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) to suspend the auction scheduled for June 17 or withdraw the 47 blocks located in the Mouth of the Amazon River from the bidding.
The agency claims that the areas are environmentally sensitive and do not have the prior studies required by law for oil exploration.
The statement was sent last Monday (27), and ANP has up to 72 hours to respond if it will comply with the recommendation.
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The MPF warns that continuing the auction under these conditions could violate national environmental regulations and international agreements on climate change.
Blocks Have Been Offered, but Remain Without License
The blocks in question are not new: they are part of a group that had previously been offered by the ANP over ten years ago, during a bidding round held between 2013 and 2014.
However, according to the MPF, none of the companies that bid on areas at that time have been able to progress in the environmental licensing process to this day.
Among the reasons are rejections from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), which pointed out weaknesses in the technical capacity of operators to contain potential emergencies, such as oil spills.
Environmental Study Was Ignored, Says MPF
One of the main arguments from the MPF is the absence of the Environmental Assessment of Sedimentary Area (AAAS), which should have been conducted before the blocks were released for auction.
This study is mandated by law and aims to map environmental risks in regions with oil potential.
“Contradictorily, the lack of strategic studies like the AAAS led to the exclusion of all blocks in the Pará-Maranhão basin, but not of the blocks in the Mouth of the Amazon River,” indicates the MPF’s recommendation.
Even with requests from Ibama for the assessment to be carried out — even during the licensing process of Petrobras on the coast of Amapá — the study was waived by a decision from the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in 2023.
The Public Ministry also requested that ANP comply with two other procedures that, according to the prosecutors, are essential before granting the blocks: the free and informed consultation with indigenous peoples and traditional communities in the region and the conduct of a study on the climate impacts of the activities.
These measures are supported by international regulations, such as ILO Convention 169, and by national public policies related to environmental protection and combating climate change.
Auction Could Stain Brazil’s Image at COP 30
The MPF’s recommendation comes at a delicate time for Brazil’s environmental image. The city of Belém, in Pará, will host COP 30 — the UN climate conference — in October this year.
For the MPF, authorizing new oil ventures in the Mouth of the Amazon River without the minimal legal and technical safeguards runs counter to the commitments made by the country in international forums.
According to the document, proceeding with the auction under these conditions represents a “serious contradiction” in light of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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