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Petrobras withstands order to examine Native effect of Amazon drilling

Brazil's staterun oil firm Petrobras is withstanding regulatory needs needing it to assess the effect on Indigenous groups of drilling in an overseas basin near the mouth of the Amazon River, Chief Exploration and Production Officer Joelson Mendes informed reporters on Tuesday.

Brazil's ecological company Ibama required the studies, first reported last week, before considering the company's appeal to approve a drilling license in the area.

Petrobras will not do these studies at this stage of the licensing process, since they are illegal, Mendes told a. news conference talking about quarterly revenues.

The director said he anticipates Brazil's solicitor general to. intervene on the business's behalf, as it thinks about the demand. for brand-new research studies not appropriate at this point in the licensing. process.

The refusal might increase stress in between the oil company. and the regulator, which denied a license for Petrobras to drill. in the location about a year ago, citing possible influence on. Indigenous groups and the delicate coastal biome.

Days after Ibama's denial, Petrobras appealed and the. company is still awaiting Ibama's final judgment.

The overseas basin, a part of the so-called Equatorial. Margin known as Foz do Amazonas, is thought about Brazil's a lot of. promising frontier for oil expedition because it shares geology. with neighboring Guyana, where Exxon is establishing substantial fields.

Beyond the licensing delays in the Equatorial Margin, Ibama. could likewise impact Petrobras' production this year due to a labor. strike by the company's staff, said Mendes, which he cautioned could. postpone the growth of operations.

It is possible that we will have impacts of the order of. magnitude of 2% of yearly production, if the circumstance. persists..

(source: Reuters)