Brazil's Lula will meet with the Environment Agency to discuss Petrobras' bid for drilling near the mouth of Amazon river

Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva will meet with the environmental agency Ibama this week or next to discuss Petrobras bid to drill near the mouth the Amazon river for oil, he said to a local station on Wednesday.

Lula, who defended Petrobras’ bid to explore the area, said in the interview that “Ibama appears to be a government agency which is against the government” as a escalation to recent criticisms against the regulator.

The meeting did not lead to any final decisions on whether Petrobras could drill in this environmentally sensitive area.

Ibama, in May 2023 denied Petrobras’ request for a drilling license offshore for the Foz de Amazonas region off the coast Amapa state. The reason given was environmental concerns. Ibama has yet to make a final decision on the appeal filed by Petrobras.

Lula made his remarks after a meeting with Davi alcolumbre. He is the newly-sworn in president of Brazil's Senate, and a staunch defender of oil drilling in Amapa.

Brazil's oil frontier is the so-called Equatorial margin at the northern end. It shares geology with Guyana, where Exxon Mobil has developed huge fields.

Petrobras has been resisted by local Indigenous communities as well as federal prosecutors in its attempt to drill in the area.

Sylvia dos Anjos said last month that she expected Petrobras to be approved by Ibama during the first quarter of the year. (Reporting and writing by Fernando Cardoso, Eduardo Simoes; editing by Angus MacSwan).

(source: Reuters)