Petrobras Advances in Amapá in Licensing Stage to Explore Oil at the Mouth of the Amazon

Written by Caio Aviz

Published on 13/04/2025 at 12:19

Navios da Petrobras ilustram o avanço no processo de licenciamento ambiental para perfuração na Foz do Amazonas, no Amapá

Be the first to react!

Company Completes Wildlife Rescue Center and Awaits Decision from Ibama on Drilling in the Equatorial Margin

Petrobras has completed the construction of a wildlife rescue center in Oiapoque, in the state of Amapá. The facility meets one of the requirements of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) in the environmental licensing process for the drilling of a well in the Mouth of the Amazon Basin.

The operation license for the center has already been granted by the environmental authorities of Amapá. However, Petrobras is still awaiting the final inspection from Ibama for drilling to occur.

The Mouth of the Amazon Basin, located in the Brazilian Equatorial Margin, shares geological characteristics with neighboring regions in Guyana, where companies like Exxon Mobil have made significant discoveries. For this reason, the area is considered to have great potential for the oil and gas sector in Brazil.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Licensing Stages Continue to Be Analyzed

According to the Bloomberg Línea website, licensing in the region has faced greater scrutiny since May 2023, when Ibama denied Petrobras’ initial request, citing socio-environmental risks. Since then, the company has been complying with new technical and environmental requirements, such as the implementation of the wildlife rescue center.

According to Reuters, in March 2025, Ibama authorized Petrobras to remove invasive corals from the hull of the operational vessel. This measure aims to avoid environmental impacts during the transport of the drilling rig to the Mouth of the Amazon area.

Petrobras has contracted the vessel until October 2025. The daily cost of chartering the drilling rig is around US$ 400,000, and the accumulated investment in the project has already surpassed R$ 1 billion. If the license is not granted by the end of April 2025, the company may need to reassess the logistical schedule of the operation.

Exploration Raises Debate on Risks and Benefits

Oil exploration in the Mouth of the Amazon region generates divergent opinions. While Petrobras argues that drilling will expand its reserves and strengthen energy security, environmentalists warn about the ecological complexity of the region.

Researchers point out that the Equatorial Margin harbors significant biodiversity, with poorly studied areas sensitive to interventions. Therefore, any activity in the region requires rigorous preventive measures aligned with the best international sustainability practices.

At the same time, local representatives highlight, for example, the potential for job creation and tax revenue for the state of Amapá. Still, the project’s approval depends, however, on the technical assessment by Ibama. The agency is therefore analyzing the impacts of drilling both on the marine environment and on coastal communities to ensure socio-environmental protection.

Petrobras Advances in Amapá in Licensing Stage to Explore Oil at the Mouth of the Amazon

Company Completes Wildlife Rescue Center and Awaits Decision from Ibama on Drilling in the Equatorial Margin

Licensing Stages Continue to Be Analyzed

Exploration Raises Debate on Risks and Benefits

A village with 115 inhabitants wants new residents: it offers a house, a job, up to 44 thousand euros in benefits, almost free rent, an annual grant of 8 thousand euros for 3 years, and a 20 thousand euro incentive for businesses in the mountains of Italy.

Seven world powers including the US, China, and Russia are spending €22 billion on a reactor in the south of France that aims to confine plasma at 150 million degrees Celsius, ten times the temperature of the Sun’s core, using a magnetic field capable of lifting an entire aircraft carrier.

With a wingspan of 152 meters, 76 tires, and a capacity to carry 1,270 tons, the Boeing Pelican was the giant “flying ship” that promised to cross oceans close to the water on an invisible air cushion beneath its wings.

Elon Musk’s internet comes to mobile: Starlink technology connects smartphones without an antenna via satellite, works even without carrier signal, already costs just US$10 extra in the US, and could arrive in Brazil as an included benefit.

While countries spend billions to draw water from the sea, a Nobel-winning scientist creates a container-sized machine that extracts up to 1,000 liters per day from dry air and uses ultrasound to release water in minutes, even in the middle of the desert.

After 16 years and almost 600 prototypes, a Chinese inventor unveils the world’s smallest and cheapest manned jet, at just 3.80 meters long and costing US$7.2 thousand in materials.

Belgium will sink 23 giant concrete caissons, each weighing 22,000 tons, in the North Sea to build the world’s first artificial energy island 45 km off the coast, forming offshore electrical walls.

Without concrete, without traditional cleaning, and without common separation, a block made of recycled plastic transforms problematic waste into a rigid piece for walls and structures.

A century-old convent hidden in Tijuca almost went to the ground, but was transformed into a condominium with an open church, preserved ruins, monastic corridors, and a common area that seems straight out of a European film.

70,000 tons of liquid argon will be buried more than 1 km deep in the US, as DUNE attempts to answer why the Universe exists filled with matter and did not disappear into antimatter.

Agro in Brazil and worldwide will change, and ‘Mounjaro is to blame’: medicines used by 100 million people could bring down ultra-processed foods and boost chicken, eggs, soy, and corn

End of an era on WhatsApp: tool used by Brazilians eliminated after less than 4 years

Petrobras Advances in Amapá in Licensing Stage to Explore Oil at the Mouth of the Amazon

Company Completes Wildlife Rescue Center and Awaits Decision from Ibama on Drilling in the Equatorial Margin

Licensing Stages Continue to Be Analyzed

Exploration Raises Debate on Risks and Benefits

A village with 115 inhabitants wants new residents: it offers a house, a job, up to 44 thousand euros in benefits, almost free rent, an annual grant of 8 thousand euros for 3 years, and a 20 thousand euro incentive for businesses in the mountains of Italy.

Seven world powers including the US, China, and Russia are spending €22 billion on a reactor in the south of France that aims to confine plasma at 150 million degrees Celsius, ten times the temperature of the Sun’s core, using a magnetic field capable of lifting an entire aircraft carrier.

With a wingspan of 152 meters, 76 tires, and a capacity to carry 1,270 tons, the Boeing Pelican was the giant “flying ship” that promised to cross oceans close to the water on an invisible air cushion beneath its wings.

Elon Musk’s internet comes to mobile: Starlink technology connects smartphones without an antenna via satellite, works even without carrier signal, already costs just US$10 extra in the US, and could arrive in Brazil as an included benefit.

While countries spend billions to draw water from the sea, a Nobel-winning scientist creates a container-sized machine that extracts up to 1,000 liters per day from dry air and uses ultrasound to release water in minutes, even in the middle of the desert.

After 16 years and almost 600 prototypes, a Chinese inventor unveils the world’s smallest and cheapest manned jet, at just 3.80 meters long and costing US$7.2 thousand in materials.

Belgium will sink 23 giant concrete caissons, each weighing 22,000 tons, in the North Sea to build the world’s first artificial energy island 45 km off the coast, forming offshore electrical walls.

Alert from the world’s largest oil company: blockade in the Strait of Hormuz removes 1 billion barrels from the market and may take time to normalize.

Global oil market loses 1 billion barrels and energy tension increases risk of new global crisis, warns Aramco

A 45 km² oil slick appears in satellite images near Kharg Island, an area that accounts for 90% of Iran’s oil exports.

While Petrobras operates at 7,000 meters in the pre-salt layer, China is extracting oil and gas at 10,910 meters onshore — Shenditake 1 is the world’s first onshore well to exceed 10 km.

Brazil discovers natural hydrogen in four states and enters the silent race that could redraw the energy transition: Petrobras has already invested R$ 20 million in studies.

Without concrete, without traditional cleaning, and without common separation, a block made of recycled plastic transforms problematic waste into a rigid piece for walls and structures.

A century-old convent hidden in Tijuca almost went to the ground, but was transformed into a condominium with an open church, preserved ruins, monastic corridors, and a common area that seems straight out of a European film.

70,000 tons of liquid argon will be buried more than 1 km deep in the US, as DUNE attempts to answer why the Universe exists filled with matter and did not disappear into antimatter.

Agro in Brazil and worldwide will change, and ‘Mounjaro is to blame’: medicines used by 100 million people could bring down ultra-processed foods and boost chicken, eggs, soy, and corn

End of an era on WhatsApp: tool used by Brazilians eliminated after less than 4 years