Amazon drilling could put Marina Silva and Lula at odds, again

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, elected as a top priority oil exploration in the Brazilian Equatorial Margin, an area that includes oil fields off the mouth of the Amazon River between the states of Amapá and Pará, in the North region. 

The move is likely to spark a fierce debate between the company and Environment Minister Marina Silva, who has expressed skepticism about the project.

The new deepwater oil reserves have been compared to the “pre-salt” reserves in the Southeast, which, discovered in 2006, now account for nearly three-quarters of Petrobras’s oil output. The Equatorial Margin, which also includes oil fields in Suriname and Guyana, is one of the world’s most appealing new oil frontiers.

But Ms. Silva has compared drilling at the Amazon’s mouth to the environmental destruction caused by the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, one of the reasons she resigned from Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government in 2008, after her first stint as environment minister.

Petrobras has made it clear that it considers the Brazilian Equatorial Margin a crucial area for exploration and that it plans to invest heavily in the region. Earlier this month, the company pledged to spend approximately USD 2.9 billion on exploration activities in the area over the next five years.

Petrobras believes the region — the Brazilian portion stretches from the French Guiana border all the way to Brazil’s northeastern tip — has great potential for oil production and expects to discover new reserves that could increase Brazil’s oil output.

In a press release, Petrobras stated that “the Equatorial Margin represents a promising prospect for us, as well as an asset that could contribute to the country’s energy security.” The company also emphasized its commitment to...