Petrobras passes key test for Amazon exploration license

The Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras concluded an emergency drill on Wednesday in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, according to the company and Brazil’s environmental agency. This was one of the last steps required to secure the controversial exploration license for the mouth of Amazon river.

Petrobras sees this pre-operational evaluation, which started on Sunday, as the final step in an environmental licensing process that it hopes will result in a permit for drilling an exploratory oil well and gas wells in the area.

Petrobras has said that it will wait for a "position", from the Brazilian environmental agency Ibama regarding the next step. Ibama is the body responsible for approving or denying the license.

Ibama has said that it will begin analyzing documents in the next few days.

Ibama stated that once the analyses are completed, it will produce a technical document on whether Petrobras’ proposed emergency plan can be implemented. This next step has no deadline, Ibama said.

Petrobras reported that the emergency drill included more than 400 participants, along with logistical resources, such as twelve vessels, three planes, and a drilling platform, which was located at the site of the well to be drilled in deep waters near the mouth of Amazon river, within the state of Amapa.

Oil industry experts believe there is a significant potential to discover large oil and natural gas reserves in Foz do Rio Amazonas, based upon major discoveries made in similar geological regions like Suriname and Guyana.

Critics within the government as well as civil society have opposed the plan, citing environmental concerns, including the impact of possible oil spills in the Amazon Rainforest, which is home to 10% of the world's species. Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Andre Romani from Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo. Editing by Sarah Morland.

(source: Reuters)