Brazil’s Petrobras Moves Closer to Drilling in Key Offshore Area

image is BloomburgMedia_SU9LNYT0AFB400_06-04-2025_06-00-13_638794944000000000.jpg

The Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) MV30 Carioca floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel anchored in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on Thursday, July 1, 2021. Few oil industries outside the Middle East are as well positioned as Brazil’s to survive an aggressive pullback in consumption and prices as developed nations tackle emissions with more urgency. Photographer: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg

Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA said it has finished building a wildlife rescue center, marking a step toward its first exploratory well in a promising yet contentious region offshore the country’s Northern state.

The facility was cleared by Amapa state authorities, but still needs to pass an inspection by environment protection agency Ibama before starting operations, Petrobras said in a statement.

Its delivery fulfills the last pending requirement set by Ibama before deciding whether it will grant a permit for Petrobras to look for oil in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, an area that the company hopes contains reserves similar to discoveries made by Exxon Mobil Corp. in neighboring Guyana.

Following Ibama’s inspection, Petrobras will need to move its rig to the FAZ-M-59 block and hold a pre-operational assessment to prove the effectiveness of its emergency plans in case of an oil spill. Ibama will then decide on the permit.

Petrobras’ earlier request to drill in the region was blocked by Ibama in 2023 over social and environmental concerns.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

By Peter Frontini

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