Brazilian NGOs ask court to halt drilling off mouth of Amazon

Brazilian NGOs ask court to halt drilling off mouth of Amazon
by AFP Staff Writers
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (AFP) Oct 23, 2025

A group of Brazilian NGOs said Thursday they had filed a lawsuit to halt exploratory drilling by state oil giant Petrobras off the coast of the Amazon region.

Petrobras began drilling on Monday, the same day it was granted a license after a five-year battle to explore for oil in the sensitive region, 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the mouth of the Amazon River.

The granting of the license angered activists who said it would undermine Brazil's hosting of the COP30 UN climate talks and poses a danger to a region rich in biodiversity off the coast of the world's largest tropical rainforest.

Groups representing environmentalists, Indigenous people, artisanal fishers and Afro-Brazilian communities filed a lawsuit on Wednesday "requesting the annulment of the license," they said in a statement.

They "also request an injunction immediately suspending drilling activities, under the risk of irreversible damage to the environment."

The lawsuit alleges that the licensing process did not study the potential impacts on Indigenous communities or Quilombolas -- communities of descendants of African slaves.

It also stated that Petrobras relied on outdated environmental modeling and data when presenting its plan in case of an oil spill.

Petrobras has said its models show that an oil spill at the offshore site "would not be likely to reach the coast" and there would be "no direct impact" on Indigenous communities.

According to the NGOs statement, their lawsuit demonstrates that in the case of an oil spill, 20 percent of the oil would sink and possibly affect the Great Amazon Reef System.

They also argue the process ignores the project's contribution to the climate crisis -- contradicting Brazil's commitments ahead of COP30.

Petrobras told AFP it had no comment for the moment on the lawsuit.

Brazil auctions off five oil blocks ahead of COP30
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (AFP) Oct 22, 2025 - Brazil awarded exploration rights to five offshore oil blocks on Wednesday, doubling down on a controversial drive to boost production in the run-up to UN climate talks it is hosting next month.

The auction came two days after state oil giant Petrobras was granted a controversial license to explore near the mouth of the Amazon river, a sensitive and biodiverse region.

Brazil awarded rights to five of seven blocks on offer, raising 103.7 million reais ($19.1 million) from several major foreign groups, including Norway's Equinor and China's CNOOC.

The oil blocks are located in Brazil's southeast, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

It is a "pre-salt" area that contains oil deposits trapped under a thick salt layer in deep water, and has already helped Brazil become the world's eighth-largest oil producer.

The winning companies have committed to donating a portion of their profits to the Brazilian government. The minimum investment planned for the five blocks is around $83 million.

"We are very satisfied with the result, which exceeds our expectations," Artur Watt, director general of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), which organized the auction, told a press conference.

Equinor won two blocks, one of which it will operate alone, and another with Petrobras.

Petrobras said it had already begun drilling 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the mouth of the Amazon River on Monday, the same day the license was granted.

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

Environmentalists criticize the project as risky and unnecessary in a world which should be moving away from fossil fuels.

However, Lula and his government staunchly defend it as necessary to secure the energy supply and a means to fund the climate transition.

"Maintaining (oil) exploration and production is fully compatible with the energy transition," said Watt.

He said the shift from fossil fuels to renewables must be accelerated, but "we can never consider voluntarily restricting supply (in Brazil), as it would quickly be filled by other countries, to the detriment of national interests."