Ibama refuses the license of the Total drilling area in Foz do Amazonas

Ibama rejected on Friday an application for an environmental permit presented by Total in France for drilling in five blocks of the Foz do Amazonas basin, due to uncertainties related to the emergency plan of the Foz do Amazonas. and potential threats to marine biodiversity.

In a note, the federal environmental agency said that a set of technical problems had been identified throughout the process, which began in 2015.

Total is the operator of the consortium that won the five blocks of a call for tenders in 2013, and has for partners the Brazilian Petrobras and the British BP.

"In one order, the president of the Institute, Suely Araújo, accompanies a technical opinion that indicates the existence of great uncertainties related to the individual emergency plan of the company, aggravated because of the possibility that oil leaks affect the biogenic reefs present in the area and marine biodiversity in a broader way. "

Ibama also baderted that this guaranteed all possible opportunities for Total E & P do Brasil to complete and clarify the technical issues reported during the process.

The body pointed out that the contractor had been informed of the decision by this Friday.

Total confirmed that he had been informed and will review the documents he has received to decide next steps.

The NGO Greenpeace considers Ibama's decision a great victory because it has been running a campaign against oil exploration in the region for about two years after the discovery of coral reefs in the Amapá Sea. Rhodoliths and sponges with unprecedented properties were published in the journal Science Advances in 2016.

"This is great news for the Amazon's corals, a unique ecosystem of which little is known. environmental activism because it proves the power of popular mobilization, "said the coordinator of the campaign" Defend the corals of the Amazon ", Thiago Almeida, of Greenpeace in Brazil.