Traditional communities at the mouth of the São Francisco River were not consulted about oil and gas exploration by ExxonMobil

A mega oil and gas exploration project by the American oil company ExxonMobil in the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, at the mouth of the São Francisco River, is starting to get off the ground without the riverside, quilombola, indigenous and fishing populations being properly heard, says the website Ground Zero, as mandated by Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Check out this news: ExxonMobil, the largest oil company in the USA and operator of nine oil blocks in Sergipe, donates more than 287 thousand reais to fight the hunger of 3600 Sergipe families

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US oil and gas exploration project

The ExxonMobil project provides for offshore drilling of exploratory wells for oil and natural gas in six blocks, the so-called SEAL Project. Up to 11 wells can be drilled. The Marco Zero website also mentions the Environmental Impact Report itself, almost 80 municipalities, from Rio Grande do Norte to Rio de Janeiro, are located in the large area of ​​influence of the project and are subject, therefore, to the potential impacts of the exploration activity of the ExxonMobil. So far, through an open letter, more than 100 organizations from Brazil and abroad have already positioned themselves against licensing for exploration in the region.

According to Marco Zero, ExxonMobil did not consult the local population

According to the Marco Zero website, the population was not consulted about the possible exploration of oil and gas by the American oil company ExxonMobil, at the mouth of the São Francisco River. Maria Izaltina Silva, 54 years old, is one of the residents of Brejão dos Negros, in the municipality of Brejo Grande, in Sergipe. The quilombo is made up of five communities in a fishing and extractive territory where 486 families live. It is the closest location to ExxonMobil's exploration points, 50 kilometers away, on the border with the municipality of Piaçabuçu in Alagoas. 

The communities along the São Francisco River denounce that Ibama has ignored the right to prior, free and informed consultations and is already moving forward with the next stage of the project, authorizing drilling, with a public hearing held only in virtual format. Community representatives believe that online consultation is not adequate for a number of reasons, including a basic one: the lack of internet access in some communities.

ExxonMobil reports on oil exploration

“With regard to the licensing of offshore wells in the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, ExxonMobil is following the recommendations and protocols suggested by the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources (Ibama). Our priority is to preserve the health and safety of the community and the environment. It is worth mentioning that more than 190 virtual meetings were held with representatives of communities in the area covered by the project, involving more than 560 interested parties and an online public hearing with Ibama, on the last September 14th.”

Also read this news: ExxonMobil starts drilling in the Titã block, located in the Santos Basin pre-salt

The ANP - National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels, disclosed through its active wells, that the American oil company ExxonMobil started after three years, the first exploratory drilling of oil and gas in the Titã block, located in the pre-salt layer. of the Santos Basin. According to the Petronotícias portal, the drillship West Saturn is drilling in a water depth of 2.644 meters.

ExxonMobil's pioneer oil and gas well, located in the Santos Basin pre-salt, was baptized with the name Titã-1 and the drilling activity began last Sunday (15). As a reminder, the block is operated by ExxonMobil (64%) in partnership with QPI Brasil (36%) and was purchased in 2018, during the 5th Sharing Round. The signing bonus for the area was the largest in the auction, together with Saturno, in the amount of R$3,125 billion.

In 2019, the ANP board approved the minimum exploratory program (PEM) for Titã, a pre-salt block in the Santos Basin contracted in the 5th sharing round. A well should be drilled by 2020, in a campaign that is part of a plan that could reach up to 22 wells in the pre-salt layer. ExxonMobil started two environmental licensing fronts for the areas it won in the 14th and 15th rounds and in the 3rd, 4th and 5th pre-salt auctions, held since September 2017. There are up to 22 exploratory wells to be drilled, two of which are firm , one in the CM-789 block and the other in the Titan block.