Petrobras obtains license for Brazilian Equatorial Margin well years after initial plan rejected

Petrobras has secured from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) an operating license authorizing offshore drilling of the Morpho well in Block FZA-M-59, in the Foz do Amazonas basin, offshore Brazil.

The exploration well will be drilled in deep waters of Amapá, 500 km from the mouth of the Amazon River and 175 km from the coast, on the Brazilian Equatorial Margin, Petrobras said in a release Oct. 20.

The drilling rig is currently at the well site, and drilling is scheduled to begin immediately, with an estimated duration of 5 months, Petrobras said. The company aims to obtain additional geological information and assess whether the area contains oil and gas on an economic scale.

Ibama initially rejected Petrobras’ application in May 2023, but the agency and the operator continued discussions to improve the project, most notably regarding the emergency response structure, the agency said in a separate release Oct. 20.

Magda Chambriard, president of Petrobras, said the company has worked with municipal, state, and federal governments and environmental agencies, and was able to “demonstrate the robustness of the entire environmental protection structure that will be available during drilling in the deep waters of Amapá. We will operate on the Equatorial Margin with safety, responsibility, and technical quality.” 

As a final stage of the evaluation, the company conducted an on-site simulation in August, through which Ibama verified Petrobras' capabilities and the effectiveness of its emergency response plan, Petrobras said.