RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Brazilian environmental agency Ibama said on Monday it approved state-run oil firm Petrobras’ concept of an emergency plan to assist local fauna in case of an oil spill in the Foz do Amazonas basin.
The move allows Petrobras to conduct a simulation of its plan, in what could be the last step before Ibama rules on a license for the firm to drill in the northenmost part of Brazil’s Equatorial Margin.
The area is considered Petrobras’ most promising oil frontier, sharing geology with nearby Guyana, where Exxon Mobil is developing huge fields.
Ibama said the approval is one of the steps needed by the company to gain a final green light to drill in the environmentally sensitive region, adding it will now hold tests and simulations to verify Petrobras’ plan effectiveness.
In May 2023, Ibama denied Petrobras’ request for an offshore drilling license for the Foz do Amazonas area off the coast of Amapa state, citing environmental concerns.
The oil company appealed soon after, but a final Ibama decision is pending, creating tensions between the government agency and the state-run firm.
(Reporting by Fabio Teixeira in Rio de Janeiro and Andre Romani in Sao Paulo, Editing by Natalia Siniawski)
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