Greenpeace activists disrupted oil company Total's annual general meeting in Paris on Friday, protesting plans in the Amazonian reef off Brazil's coast.
Several Greenpeace climbers have placed banners from the ceiling inside the AGM, reading “Save the Amazon Reef”. According to Greenpeace, Total's proposed drilling project near the Amazon reef would risk "irreparable damage" to the reef. Greenpeace said: "In the event of an oil leak or spill, not only the reef is threatened, but also the coast of French Guiana and the mangroves, where dozens of communities depend on the resources provided by this environment to live."
Brazilian environmental agency IBAMA was reported this week to have rejected Total's environmental impact plan for the Foz do Amazonas Basin project, giving it a new deadline to address the identified "gaps and inconsistencies".
Total event in Paris with Green Peace activists aloft in protest
As previously reported, Greenpeace said in April that its team of scientists aboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza "documented the existence of a rhodolith field where the French company Total intends to drill for oil, 120 kilometers off the north coast of Brazil."
Rhodoliths are calcareous algae that provide habitat for fish and other reef creatures. Its presence, according to Greenpeace, confirms that the Amazonian Reef extends even further than expected and could be 56.000 km2 in extension – almost six times larger than previous scientific estimates.
"The discovery proves the existence of a reef formation in the area and invalidates Total's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which states that the nearest reef formation is 8 kilometers from one of the oil blocks," Greenpeace said in the statement. era.
Total says there aren't any rhodoliths on your block
Responding to Greenpeace's allegations, Total, which operates five blocks in the area, said in May: “Total confirms that no biogenic formations have been identified in Block FZA-M-57. The planned exploration well in Block FZA-M-57 (approximately 1.800m water depth) will be 28 km from the previously identified rhodolith beds and 34 km from the location where the NGO would have most recently found the rhodoliths. ”
According to Total, the Greenpeace vessel went to the border limits of block FZA-M-86, where it reported that it found rhodolith beds within the area it surveyed at a water depth of around 180m.
“Total reaffirms that it operates in strict compliance with applicable legislation and applies the best practices of the E&P industry in safety, well design, drilling and environmental protection,” said the French oil company. Find out which platforms TOTAL will hire for activities in Brazil by clicking here.
