Brazil advances Amazon oil exploration ahead of climate conference
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, June 5 (UPI) -- Brazil's environmental authority has approved one of the final requirements for state-run oil company Petrobras to proceed with oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River.
After several rejections, Petrobras secured approval from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources for its wildlife protection plan. The decision allows the company to proceed to a preoperational evaluation phase.
This stage includes live emergency simulations to test Petrobras' response capabilities. The success of these tests will be key to the environmental authority's final decision whether to issue a drilling license.
Petrobras aims to drill a well about 109 miles off the coast of Amapá state, in a maritime zone known as Block 59. The company says the activity will be low-impact and time-limited. Still, the project has sparked widespread environmental and social concerns.
Environmental groups and experts have warned about the risks to the mouth of the Amazon River, an ecologically rich region and home to coral reefs, mangroves and endangered species.
They also point to a lack of comprehensive environmental studies and the failure to consult Indigenous communities, as required under International Labor Organization Convention 169.
The environmental institute' s stance on the project has shifted over time.
Throughout 2023, its technical staff repeatedly recommended denying Petrobras permits to drill, citing inadequate environmental assessments and serious risks to biodiversity and local communities.
Despite those recommendations, the authority's leadership approved Petrobras' latest protection plan May 19.
Claudio Angelo, international policy coordinator at Observatório do Clima -- a Brazilian network of 90 climate-focused organizations -- said the plan's approval amounts to a capitulation to pressure from the state-run oil company.
He warned the move could pave the way for auctioning 47 additional blocks at the mouth of the Amazon River, which he described as a setback for environmental protection in Brazil.
An investigative report by InfoAmazonia found that Petrobras' strategic plan for 2025 to 2029 includes drilling 15 wells along Brazil's equatorial margin. The company plans to invest $3 billion in the project, representing 38% of its five-year budget for new oil and gas exploration, including projects in both Brazil and Colombia.
Brazil's Federal Public Ministry has urged the National Petroleum Agency to suspend the auction of the 47 blocks, scheduled for June 17, citing the absence of required environmental studies and consultations with Indigenous peoples.
Although the ministry's recommendations are not legally binding, ignoring them without justification can trigger civil or criminal legal action.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has defended the project, saying oil exploration is essential for national development, and that revenues could support the country's transition to clean energy.
Still, his position has drawn criticism for contradicting Brazil's climate commitments, especially with the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in November in Belém, a city in Brazil's Amazon region.
The event will bring together world leaders, scientists, non-governmental organizations and advocates to discuss and negotiate global climate action. Brazil is expected to play a central role in the talks.
It will be the first time a COP is held in the Amazon, underscoring the region's importance in the global climate agenda.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Petrobras targets Africa for oil exploration region outside Brazil
Petrobras, the Brazilian state-run oil company, is setting its sights on Africa as its primary region for oil exploration activities outside its home country, reported Reuters, citing the company's CEO Magda Chambriard. She detailed the strategic intent to expand the company's presence in Africa, highlighting the welcoming approach from the Ivory Coast and interest from other African nations. The Ivory Coast has recently paved the way for Petrobras by offering priority access to nine exploratory offshore blocks. This gesture, described by Chambriard as rolling out the "red carpet", signifies a significant opportunity for the company to delve into deep and ultra-deep waters. Chambriard said: "We are experts in the eastern margin of Brazil. The correlation between Brazil and Africa is unequivocal, so we need to go to Africa." Nigeria, Angola and Namibia have also shown eagerness to collaborate with Petrobras, further cementing Africa's role in the company's global strategy. Petrobras' growing interest in international oil assets, particularly in Africa, comes as the company aims to augment its reserves amid environmental permit delays for new drilling projects off the coast of the Amazon rainforest. Moreover, Petrobras is looking to participate in an oil block auction in India in July as part of its broader exploratory ambitions. Under past leadership, Petrobras concentrated on Brazil's pre-salt fields, which are known for their high productivity. Now, Chambriard is tasked with balancing the economic aspirations of President Luiz Inacio Lula with the necessity of delivering investor returns and navigating the complexities of a global market with lower oil prices. Despite challenges in obtaining environmental permits for drilling in the Amazon's Foz do Amazonas region, Chambriard is optimistic about clearing the final hurdle for a permit by the second half of July. Petrobras has already initiated its plans in Africa, acquiring stakes in offshore oilfields in South Africa and São Tomé and Príncipe in 2023 and early 2024, respectively, with drilling expected to commence this year. Although Petrobras faced a setback when outbid by TotalEnergies for a share in Galp Energia's Mopane field discovery off Namibia's coast, Chambriard remains hopeful for future opportunities, stating: "We hope to be invited" to develop the field. "Petrobras targets Africa for oil exploration region outside Brazil" was originally created and published by Investment Monitor, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Aura Announces Public Filing of Registration Statement for Proposed U.S. Public Offering
ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, June 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aura Minerals Inc. (TSX: ORA) (B3: AURA33) (OTCQX: ORAAF) ('Aura' or the 'Company') announces that it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") relating to a proposed public offering of its securities in the United States. The proposed public offering includes the registration and listing of our common shares in the United States. The public offering is expected to commence after the SEC completes its review processes, subject to market and other conditions. The number of common shares to be sold and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. There will be no pre-emptive right for our shareholders and our Brazilian Depositary Receipts holders in connection with the public offering. Aura has applied to list its common shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol 'AUGO.' The U.S. listing is part of Aura's strategy to unlock value for our shareholders, improve stock liquidity and consolidate the liquidity in the U.S. equity market. BofA Securities and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are acting as Global Coordinators, BTG Pactual and Itaú BBA are acting as Joint Bookrunners and Bradesco BBI, National Bank of Canada Financial Markets, RBC Capital Markets and Scotiabank are acting as Co-Managers of the offering. The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus related to the offering may be obtained, when available, from BofA Securities, 201 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attn: Prospectus Department. A registration statement relating to this offering has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This communication to the market shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The offering will not be carried out by any means that would constitute a public offering in Brazil under Law No. 6,385, dated December 7, 1976, as amended, and under Brazilian Securities Commission ('CVM') Resolution (Resolução) No. 160, dated July 13, 2022, as amended ('CVM Resolution 160'). The offering has not been and will not be registered with the CVM in Brazil. The common shares may not be offered or sold in Brazil except in circumstances which do not constitute a public offering for distribution under Brazilian securities laws and regulations. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements This press release includes certain statements and information that may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and/or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable United States securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the Company's current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, without limitation, statements with respect to: statements relating to the public offering of the Company's common shares; the expected timing of the public offering; the registration and listing of the Company's common shares in the United States; the registration statement becoming effective; the SEC's review process; the sizing and pricing of the offering; the means by which the offering will be made; and the Company's business strategies. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon, without limitation, the following estimates and assumptions: the Company carrying out its public offering; the Company successfully completing the SEC review process; obtaining requisite regulatory approvals; and general business, economic and market conditions. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that may cause actual results to vary, include, without limitation, that the Company may not carry out its public offering or complete the SEC review process. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement or forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. CONTACT: Investor Relations ri@
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kilmar Abrego Garcia: Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador back in U.S. now
June 6 (UPI) -- Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, is back in the United States after being indicted in Tennessee on two federal charges involving migrant smuggling, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday. Bondi said Abrego Garcia, 29, is in the United States to "face justice." He made his first court appearance Friday afternoon in Nashville. The Justice Department said in a court filing that he should be held in pretrial custody because "he poses a danger to the community and a serious risk of flight, and no condition or combination of conditions would ensure the safety of the community or his appearance in court." On May 21, a grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee returned an indictment, charging Abrego Garcia with criminal counts of alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, Bondi said at a news conference. Abrego Garcia is the only member of the alleged conspiracy indicted. El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele was presented with an arrest warrant for him and he agreed to return him to the United States, Bondi said. "We're grateful to President Bukele for agreeing to return him to our country to face these very serious charges," Bondi said. Bondi said that if Abrego Garcia is convicted of the charges and serves his sentence, he will be deported back to his home country of El Salvador. "The grand jury found that over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring," Bondi said. "They found this was his full-time job, not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women. He made over 100 trips, the grand jury found, smuggling people throughout our country." Ben Schrader, the chief of the criminal division in the office for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville, resigned the same week of the grand jury indictment last month, CNN reported. Schrader's post on LinkedIn does not mention the Abrego Garcia case. On April 17, Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with his constituent in El Salvador. "After months of ignoring our Constitution, it seems the Trump Admin has relented to our demands for compliance with court orders and due process for Kilmar Abrego Garcia," Van Hollen posted on X Friday. "This has never been about the man -- it's about his constitutional rights & the rights of all." In the indictment unsealed Friday afternoon, Abrego Garcia and others are accused of participating in a conspiracy in which they "knowingly and unlawfully transported thousands of undocumented aliens who had no authorization to be present in the United States, and many of whom were MS-13 members and associates." The allegations from 2016 to this year involve a half-dozen alleged unnamed co-conspirators. Abrego Garcia and others worked to move undocumented aliens between Texas and Maryland and other states more than 100 times, according to the indictment. They "ordinarily picked up the undocumented aliens in the Houston, Texas area after the aliens had unlawfully crossed the Southern border of the United States from Mexico," the indictment said. Abrego Garcia and someone referred to a CC-1 "then transported the undocumented aliens from Texas to other parts of the United States to further the aliens' unlawful presence in the United States." To cover up the alleged conspiracy, prosecutors say Abrego Garcia and his co-conspirators "routinely devised and employed knowingly false cover stories to provide to law enforcement if they were stopped during a transport," including claims that migrants being transported were headed to construction jobs. In November 2022, Abrego Garcia is accused of driving a Chevrolet Suburban and was pulled over on a Tennessee interstate highway, with nine other Hispanic men without identification or luggage. Prosecutors allege that Abrego Garcia transported narcotics to Maryland, though he wasn't previously charged with any crimes. "For the last 2 months, the media and Democrats have burnt to the ground any last shred of credibility they had left as they glorified Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a known MS13 gang member, human trafficker, and serial domestic abuser," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement on X. "Justice awaits this Salvadoran man." Abrego Garcia and his family have denied allegations that he's an MS-13 member, and he fled gang violence in El Salvador. Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, an attorney for Abrego Garcia, said his client should appear in immigration court, not criminal court. "The government disappeared Kilmar to a foreign prison in violation of a court order," Sandoval-Moshenberg Now told CNN. "Now, after months of delay and secrecy, they're bringing him back, not to correct their error but to prosecute him. This shows that they were playing games with the court all along. Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you're punished, not after. This is an abuse of power, not justice." Abrego Garcia deported in March Abrego Garcia was living in Maryland since he arrived in the United States in 2011 unlawfully. The government earlier, through a confidential informant, said his clothes had alleged gang markings when he was arrested in 2019. Abrego Garcia was living with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, and children when he was arrested in March and deported to El Salvador to the maximum-security Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT. He was with a group of more than 230 men, mostly Venezuelans, accused of being gang members. In April, the State Department said Abrego Garcia was moved to a lower-security facility in Santa Ana. The Trump administration has acknowledged that Abrego Garcia's deportation was a mistake because he had been granted a legal status in 2019. The Department of Homeland Security is banned from removing him to his home country of El Salvador because he was likely to face persecution by local gangs. He didn't have a hearing before his deportation. The government has utilized the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime immigration law, to quickly deport migrants from the United States. In an April hearing, District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to comply with expedited discovery to determine whether they were complying with the directive to return Abrego Garcia to the United States, which was upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year. The high court and district judge said the Trump administration must "facilitate" his return for due process. On Wednesday, Xinis ordered seven documents to be unsealed in the deportation. The criminal charges could impact his immigration case, John Sandweg, a former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told CNN. "I think what we're going to see is on the back end of this criminal prosecution - now that they're prosecuting him for these immigration-related offenses - if they get a conviction, they will go back to the immigration court and argue that now there are those changed circumstances," Sandweg, who is now a partner at law firm Nixon Peabody.
