Brazil environmental agency clears Petrobras to drill additional Foz do Amazonas wells (updated)

Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras

04/09/2026 15:15

Adds context, details starting in paragraph 2
By Fabio Teixeira
RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Brazil's environmental agency Ibama authorized state-run oil company Petrobras PETR3.SA to drill three new wells in the Foz do Amazonas basin, according to a document seen by Reuters on Friday.
The move marks a step forward in the firm's effort to produce oil in the environmentally sensitive area off Brazil's Amazon coast, as the new wells are key to determining whether Petrobras' recent oil discovery there is commercially viable.
 President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva celebrated the oil find last month. He traveled to the northern state of Amapa days later to hail it as "a passport to this country's future."
Petrobras' push to explore the Foz do Amazonas basin, near the mouth of the Amazon River, has sparked debate within Lula's government, pitting environmental concerns against the firm's argument that it needs to replenish reserves.
If the discovery is commercially viable, production could begin within seven years, Petrobras Chief Executive Magda Chambriard has said.
The Foz do Amazonas basin is geologically similar to blocks in Guyana, where ExxonMobil is developing huge oil fields. The area is part of Brazil's Equatorial Margin, which Petrobras considers its most promising exploration frontier.
Ibama's decision, signed on Thursday by agency head Jair Schmitt, requires Petrobras to submit an updated drilling schedule within 30 days of receiving the license.
The document also sets conditions for Petrobras to retain the license, including updating the project's environmental risk analysis.
     Earlier this year, fluid leaked during the drilling of the first well, raising concerns among Indigenous groups about the impact an oil boom could have in a state still largely covered by pristine Amazon rainforest.

(Reporting by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Rod Nickel)
((Fabio.Teixeira@thomsonreuters.com; +55 21 99603-4782;))