The AGU (The Attorney General's Office) has concluded a legal opinion that paves the way for the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to move forward with the studies and consequent oil exploration in the region of the mouth of the Amazon river.
The opinion, which had been requested by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, offers one more argument to the government by defending that the so-called AAAS (Environmental Assessment of Sedimentary Area) is not indispensable and cannot stop the licensing of undertakings of exploration of fuels in the country.
The obligation of this assessment was one of the points indicated by Ibama when refusing Petrobras' request to start prospecting studies in the Amazon river's mouth region, in May of this year.
Contacted by Folha, Ibama stated that it received the opinion of the AGU and "will manifest itself in due course". In a note, the AGU argues that there are precedents in the STF (Federal Supreme Court), in recent trials, which support the understanding that environmental feasibility should be attested only in licensing, not through studies of a strategic nature, such as the AAAS —which was presented by Ibama as an argument to block the drilling request for the so-called block 59.
The ministry of Jorge Messias also forwarded a request for the opening of an administrative conciliation process between the organizations involved in the matter. The issue will be debated at the Chamber of Mediation and Conciliation of the Federal Public Administration (CCAF), a unit of the AGU and CGU (Brazilian office of the Comptroller General)
The final decision on drilling at the mouth of the Amazon river rests with Ibama, which is already analyzing a new request from Petrobras. The AGU's opinion, however, should increase pressure on the environmental agency.
Translated by Cassy Dias