Brazil opens oil wells 175km from Amazon River

(ANSA) – BRASILIA, 01 SEPTEMBER – In Brazil, the Attorney General of the Union (AGU), Jorge Messias, has approved a legal opinion on oil exploration in the Equatorial Margin region, in the north of the country. In a note, the institution that provides legal advice to the executive branch and represents the State in court, determined that the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) does not have legal authority to reevaluate the environmental license of the municipal airport of Oiapoque, in the state of Amapá. “The possible impact of aircraft flying between the airport and the exploration area is one of the points raised by IBAMA to reject the license requested by Petrobras for the drilling of a well in block FZA-M-59, located on the southeastern coast in the so-called Equatorial Margin, 175 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon River,” reads Messias’ legal opinion. According to the AGU, “verifying the impact of air traffic at Oiapoque airport on indigenous communities surrounding the airport does not constitute adequate grounds for reviewing the license for block FZAM-59.” (ANSA).