ANGRA DOS REIS, Brazil (Reuters) – Brazilian oil firm Petrobras expects to ready a veterinary center in the Amazon to care for animals in the event of an oil spill by the end of March, two sources told Reuters on Monday.
The animal care center in the northern state of Amapa is one the main demands from Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama still not met by Petrobras in order to potentially get approval to drill in an offshore area near the Amazon River.
Ibama blocked Petrobras from drilling the well in the environmentally sensitive region in 2023, but the company filed a new request, which the agency is currently assessing, with no deadline to give a final answer.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has defended Petrobras’ bid to explore the region. He said last week “Ibama is a government agency that seems to be against the government.”
The works to build the veterinary center are in their final stages, the sources said, but added they have faced a delay due to the rains in the region. Initially, they said, Petrobras was expecting to finish the center in February.
The so-called Equatorial Margin is Brazil’s most promising oil frontier, sharing geology with nearby Guyana, where Exxon Mobil is developing huge fields.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Andre Romani; Editing by Kylie Madry)
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