Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petrobras has been required by the country’s environmental agency, Ibama, to conduct a series of studies on the impact that its planned offshore drilling in the Amazon region would have on Indigenous groups. This is a fresh hurdle for Petrobras as it seeks to explore the Foz do Amazonas basin, part of the Equatorial Margin, which is considered Brazil’s most promising frontier for oil exploration.
The wide-ranging studies demanded by Ibama are meant to ascertain the “social, cultural and environmental” impacts on Indigenous peoples of drilling in the Foz do Amazonas basin, which is located about 175 kilometers off Brazil’s northernmost coast. This requirement comes amid increasing resistance from local Indigenous leaders in Amapa state.
Petrobras has previously argued that the drilling would have “no direct impact” on Indigenous communities and that the time to require a formal consultation with them had passed. However, the additional studies requested by Ibama are likely to take at least six months, further delaying Petrobras’ plans to explore the Foz do Amazonas basin.
A year ago, Ibama denied Petrobras a license to drill in the area, citing possible impacts on Indigenous groups and the sensitive coastal biome. Petrobras appealed the decision, and has been waiting for Ibama’s response since then. In October, Ibama asked Brazil’s Indigenous affairs agency, Funai, to weigh in on the matter before it decides on the appeal.
Funai proposed in December that Ibama should require several more studies to assess the impacts on Indigenous communities, their customs, local flora and fauna, and economic activity in the area. On April 17, Ibama sent this memo to Petrobras, notifying the firm that it must meet these demands before a final decision can be made on the appeal.
The Council of Chieftains of the Indigenous People of Oiapoque (CCPIO), an umbrella group representing the 8,000 Indigenous people in the area, has been vocal about the potential impacts of Petrobras’ activities on their communities. The regulatory decision to require the additional studies is seen as a victory for CCPIO, as it will provide Indigenous communities with a greater understanding of the project’s implications.