San Francisco Frontiers - Brazil greenlights oil drilling in sensitive Amazon region

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has come under fire from conservationists who argue his oil expansion plans clash with his image as a global leader on climate change.

Brazil will host COP30 climate talks in the Amazon city of Belem next month.

Petrobras said drilling in the Foz de Amazonas region will begin immediately and will last for five months, after its five-year battle to get permission to explore the area.

"Petrobras met all the requirements established by (environmental watchdog) Ibama, fully complying with the environmental licensing process," the oil giant said in a statement sent to AFP.

"We hope to obtain excellent results from this research and prove the existence of oil in the Brazilian portion of this new global energy frontier," said Magda Chambriard, president of Petrobras.

The company will drill an exploratory well at an offshore site that lies 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the mouth of the Amazon River at a depth of more than 2,800 meters (9,200 feet).

The drilling of Block 59 -- which is 160 kilometres from the coastline -- has been a passion project for Lula, who insists oil revenues will help fund Brazil's climate transition.

Environmentalists have raised alarm about drilling for oil off the coast of the world's largest tropical rainforest, a biodiverse area that is home to several Indigenous communities.

Brazil's Climate Observatory NGO said civil society organizations would go to court to fight the decision, based on "illegalities and technical flaws" in the licensing process.

"The approval sabotages the COP and goes against the role of climate leader claimed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the international stage," said the Climate Observatory.

"The decision is disastrous from an environmental, climate, and sociobiodiversity perspective."

Foz de Amazonas is part of a promising new offshore oil frontier, with nearby Guyana emerging as a major oil producer in less than a decade following large offshore discoveries.

- Risk of 'massive biodiversity loss' -

Ibama denied Petrobras an exploration license in 2023, citing inadequate plans to protect wildlife in case of an oil spill.

As Petrobras appealed, pressure rose from Lula who said earlier this year that Ibama was a government agency acting as if it was "against the government."

In February, an opinion signed by 29 Ibama technical staff and seen by AFP said the recommendation remained to "deny the environmental license," highlighting the risk of "massive biodiversity loss in a highly sensitive marine ecosystem."

However, in May, Ibama president Rodrigo Agostinho overruled the opinion and allowed Petrobras to go ahead with an oil spill accident response drill that was considered the last step before the license is granted.

In September, Ibama approved the pre-operational environmental assessment, despite Petrobras failing to demonstrate it can "reliably protect fauna in the event of an oil spill."

Ibama said a new fauna simulation would take place "after the license is issued."

Ibama's technical staff noted in February that drilling conditions were very challenging in the Foz de Amazonas basin, prone to intense storms and strong ocean currents.

M.Hill--SFF