Brazil´s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is pressing the country's environmental regulator to approve exploratory drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River, defending the push by saying new oil revenues could finance a transition to green energies.
The offshore site, Bloc 59, is located in the Equatorial Margin, about 160 kilometers (99 miles) off Brazil's eastern coast. In May 2023, Ibama, the environmental regulator, rejected a license, citing issues such as a weak wildlife protection plan in the event of an oil spill that could affect one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. State-owned oil company Petrobras appealed and a decision is pending.
