MPF asks for suspension of offshore drilling by Petrobras at the mouth of the Amazon River

The Federal Public Ministry (MPF), through its units in Pará and Amapá, recommended to the Brazilian Institute for the Environment (Ibama) and Petrobras to suspend the scheduled offshore drilling activity in the mouth of the Amazon, according to statement released this Monday (5).

The MPF stated that the activity will affect four indigenous communities in Amapá, quilombola and riverine communities in Pará and that there was no prior consultation, a right of these peoples.

The impact on the indigenous people will result from the construction of an air base with a forecast of a 3,000% increase in air traffic and pressure for infrastructure and services.

The quilombola communities of Abacatal and Aurá, in Ananindeua (PA), will be affected by the receipt of waste from the activity, while the riverside community of Pirocaba, in Abaetetuba (PA), should suffer interference in fishing activities.

According to the ministry, there is also “enormous potential for environmental damage on the coast of the Atlantic Amazon” because so far there has not been, according to prosecutors, a “competent study” of modeling showing the dispersion of oil from the coast in the event of accidents.

“For the MPF, there is a high probability that oil will advance into international territory, especially in the territorial sea of ​​French Guiana and on the coast of Caribbean countries, and can reach the border in a matter of hours,” he said in a statement.

Also according to the MPF, both Petrobras and Ibama must suspend the progress of the exploration project while the affected peoples’ right of prior consultation is not respected. The company and the environmental authority have ten days to respond to requests.

Sought out, Petrobras did not immediately respond to a request for comment.