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The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Pará and Amazonas Are in Joint Action Seeking to Prevent the Granting of Petrobras’ Operation License in the Amazon River Mouth. IBAMA Received Alert About the Socio-Environmental Impacts of Oil Exploration in the Region.
The state-owned Petrobras is facing new problems regarding its operations in the oil and natural gas sector in Brazil. Last Friday, (09/02), the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office of Pará and Amapá, in joint action, issued an action against the company to the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). The request aims to prevent the issuance of the operation license for the exploration of the Amazon River mouth by the state-owned company.
Public Prosecutor’s Office of Pará and Amazonas Want to Prevent Socio-Environmental Issues from Petrobras’ Oil Exploration in the Amazon River Mouth
Petrobras’ action and the fuel exploration modeling in its project at the Amazon River mouth are being questioned regarding the socio-environmental impacts on the indigenous peoples of the states.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office of both northern states recommend to IBAMA that it only evaluate the issuance of the operation license for block FZA-M-59 after addressing environmental and social questions and conducting consultations with indigenous peoples.
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Additionally, the joint action submitted to the environmental agency last week stipulates that no operation license be issued until all issues regarding the oil exploration modeling are resolved by the company.
Both prosecutors emphasize that, in case of IBAMA’s negligence regarding Petrobras’ project at the Amazon River mouth, the damages from an oil spill would be irreparable to the indigenous communities and the region’s ecosystem.
The main issue remains the oil dispersion during fuel production, which, according to the prosecutors, sustains a series of environmental impacts in the region.
Socio-Environmental Issues of the State-Owned Company at the Amazon River Mouth Have Been Discussed in Pará and Amazonas for Over 8 Years
Considering that the licensing process has already exceeded eight years without the companies demonstrating their viability, they indicate that the socio-environmental characteristics of the region may have undergone changes.
Moreover, the pursuit of suspending the operations of oil companies at the Amazon River mouth has been underway for several years.
Only in May of this year, dozens of civil society organizations opposed the continuation of oil projects in the area.
Among them were WWF-Brasil, Arayara.org, Climate Observatory, ClimaInfo, 350.org, Iepé, Articulation of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations of Amapá and Northern Pará (Apoianp), and the Council of Chiefs of Indigenous Peoples of Oiapoque (CCPIO).
According to studies from the Federal University of Pará, the organizations argued that the risks of the activity were not properly assessed.
This is because the modeling used by the companies (which predicts the oil’s course in case of spillage accidents) does not accurately reflect the region’s dynamics, and IBAMA itself pointed this out during the licensing process.
Thus, in case of an oil spill, the product would take hours to disperse in the ocean, causing a series of impacts on the environment.
Environmental Agencies Speak Out About the Suspension of IBAMA’s Operation License for Petrobras at the Amazon River Mouth
Suely Araújo, senior public policies specialist at the Climate Observatory, highlighted that Petrobras’ project is characterized as a potential tragedy in a sensitive area of vital importance from the standpoint of socio-biodiversity and indigenous peoples in the region.
Kátia Barros, Director of Communities, Socio-Biodiversity, and Oceans at ARAYARA.ORG, reminded: “The area where they seek to explore oil is quite sensitive, located at the mouth of the Amazon River with the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by conservation units and indigenous lands.”
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