Oil from Amazon Mouth Likely To Emit 4.7b Tonnes Of GHG, Analysis Shows

Oil exploration at the Amazon Mouth, in the Equatorial Margin of Brazil, would increase CO2 emissions by 4.7 billion tonnes-equivalent in the atmosphere, and oil money does not, and will not, finance the energy transition.

- EP Desk

This is what analyses carried out by Climainfo from reserve estimates for the basin, as well as for the FZA-M-59 block, for which Petrobras is seeking an exploratory drilling license, and the company's and government's investments in the energy transition.

Recently, thanks to strong political pressure and contrary to the technical opinion issued by IBAMA, Brazil's environmental agency, Petrobras obtained approval of the new version of the Oiled Fauna Protection and Care Plan (PPAF, in portuguese). This is a worrying development in the licensing process for block 59.

Across the entire Amazon mouth, the Brazilian Energy Research Company (EPE, in portuguese) estimates that there are more than 10 billion recoverable barrels, and that the 5 basins that make up the Equatorial Margin contain more than 30 billion barrels.

From these volumes, Shigueo Watanabe Jr., researcher at Climainfo, estimates that burning the oil and gas from all the wells in the Amazonas Mouth would emit 4.7 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, and burning the oil and gas from the entire Equatorial Margin would release 13.5 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, more than the country emitted over the last 5 years including all deforestation in the Amazon during the period.