Petrobras predicts license to drill Foz do Amazonas before new government

(Reuters) – Petrobras plans to receive an environmental license from Ibama this year to drill a well in the Foz da Rio Amazonas Basin, off the coast of Amapá, one of the oil company’s major exploratory bets.

If the license is granted, it would occur before the change of government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). There are questions about whether the future government could adopt stricter guidelines than the current administration with regard to environmental permits.

Ibama’s authorization, which would come more than nine years after the Brazilian government granted the areas for exploration, is expected to take place after a major leaked emergency drill, company executives said Friday in a conference call with analysts.

It is not yet known whether the change of the federal government can change the direction of investments in the region, since the president-elect did not detail in his campaign his intentions related to oil exploration in the Amazon.

Several exploratory areas in Foz do Amazonas were auctioned for exploration in the government of Dilma Rousseff, in 2013.

But oil drilling attempts off the amapá coast have attracted protests from environmentalists and scrutiny from regulators. As a result, for example, TotalEnergies and BP transferred the operation of some areas to Petrobras, even after investments made.

Ibama did not immediately comment on the matter.