Brazil’s oil regulator has set June 17 as the date for a major auction of offshore drilling rights, including highly contested blocks in the environmentally sensitive Foz do Amazonas region—despite ongoing opposition from environmental authorities and Indigenous communities.
The National Petroleum Agency (ANP) will offer 173 exploration blocks in northeastern and southern Brazil, 47 of which lie in the Equatorial Margin’s Foz do Amazonas basin. This area has long been a focal point of interest for state-owned oil giant Petrobras, which has repeatedly been denied drilling permits by Brazil’s environmental protection agency, Ibama.
The broader Equatorial Margin, encompassing the Foz do Amazonas, Pará-Maranhão, and Barreirinhas basins, is believed to hold significant untapped oil and gas reserves. Geologists suggest the region shares similar characteristics to offshore Guyana, where ExxonMobil has made massive discoveries and is actively developing multiple projects.
Petrobras is currently appealing Ibama’s refusal to grant a drilling license in Foz do Amazonas. However, the environmental deadlock could dampen investor enthusiasm for the auction, analysts say.
“The lack of authorization for Petrobras to drill in the Foz do Amazonas basin brings uncertainty and certainly affects the attractiveness of the auction,” said Rivaldo Moreira Neto, director at infrastructure consultancy A&M Infra, in comments to Bloomberg.
Opposition from Indigenous groups further complicates the tender. Brazil’s Indigenous affairs agency, Funai, argues that drilling operations would infringe on Indigenous rights and has urged Ibama to weigh all potential social and ecological impacts before issuing any new licenses.
Despite these challenges, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has thrown his support behind Petrobras’ ambitions in the Amazon. He has openly pressured Ibama to greenlight exploration efforts, claiming that oil revenues could help fund Brazil’s shift toward renewable energy and reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
Still, environmentalists and Indigenous leaders remain deeply skeptical. As the auction date nears, the government faces growing scrutiny over whether short-term economic interests are being placed above long-term ecological preservation and social justice.
The June 17 auction will serve as a litmus test for Brazil’s energy ambitions—and whether the administration can reconcile them with its commitments to environmental protection and Indigenous rights.