RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras will next week appeal the decision from the environmental protection agency Ibama barring it from drilling at the mouth of the Amazon river, sources close to the matter said on Friday.
Petrobras expects a response in about 10 days, the sources said, and will in the meantime maintain the equipment it has deployed to the drilling site.
Late on Wednesday Ibama had said it would block a request by Petrobras to drill at the mouth of the Amazon river near Amapa state, a long-awaited decision that followed a technical recommendation by Ibama experts to reject the project.
The technical report had cited discrepancies in environmental studies, inadequate measures for communicating with indigenous communities, and insufficiencies in Petrobras’ plan to safeguard the region’s wildlife.
In a filing, Petrobras said it had “strictly complied with all the requirements of the licensing process.” The sources said the company is confident that it has a robust plan for exploration in the region.
The decision by Ibama, which is overseen by Lula’s environment minister, the globally recognized environmentalist Marina Silva, has riled some within the governing coalition.
(Reporting by Marta Nogueira; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Sarah Morland)
