Petrobras confirms oil at the mouth of the Amazon

Petrobras has confirmed an oil discovery at the Morpho well, in the Foz do Amazonas basin at the mouth of the Amazon. It is one of the five areas of what is known as Brazil's Equatorial Margin.

The well was drilled in ultra-deep water, some 175 kilometres off the coast of the state of Amapá and at a depth of 2,886 metres. Petrobras is the operator of block FZA-M-59 and holds a hundred per cent stake in it.

The confirmation comes at a delicate moment for the company, which needs to rebuild its reserves. At current rates of production these could run out in little more than ten years. According to estimates by Brazil's national petroleum agency, the Foz do Amazonas alone could hold around thirty billion barrels.

A contested frontier

The presence of oil in this area could support new investment and strengthen the outlook for Brazil's oil industry. The prospect of further drilling on the Equatorial Margin is disputed by environmental campaigners, who point to the risks for marine and Amazonian ecosystems and call for more caution in expanding the sector.

The dispute concerns the very region on which Brazil has built its international profile on climate for years. Energy policy and environmental policy now meet on the same stretch of coast.