Brazil Rejects Offshore Oil Drilling Request from State Oil Company
2023-05-24
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1Brazil's environmental agency recently refused to give oil company Petrobras permission to search for oil under the ocean near the mouth of the Amazon River.
2Petrobras is Brazil's state-run oil company.
3The oil company wanted to start a drilling project near the northern coast of Brazil, in an area known as the Tapajos Basin.
4Activists describe the area as "unique" and say it contains plants and coral reefs that are sensitive to chemicals.
5A number of environmental organizations pushed the agency to reject Petrobras' application.
6When the environmental agency's leader, Rodrigo Agostinho announced his decision last week, he said the company did not fix some "technical inconsistencies" in its proposal.
7The head of Petrobras is Jean Paul Prates.
8He said the company has never had an oil leak during offshore projects.
9His word, however, was not enough to persuade the agency of the project's safety.
10Petrobras noted that it would appeal the decision.
11The oil company believes exploring the northern coast is important for the nation's economy.
12Brazil's oil production, Petrobras said, is expected to reach its highest level soon and then start to drop off.
13The company planned to invest half of its $6 billion exploration budget for the next five years in the area.
14Agostinho called the area "a new exploratory frontier with high... vulnerability" in his announcement.
15Groups such as the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace were among the organizations asking the agency to reject Petrobras' request.
16Another group was Health and Happiness, a Brazilian nonprofit led by Caetano Scannavino.
17He was pleased with the decision and said it was an example of "prioritizing science in the service of the collective."
18He went on to say any mistake in the area would hurt the environment.
19If the agency had permitted drilling, he said, it would be going against the Brazilian government's "promise of a decarbonized future."
20The Climate Observatory is a network of environmental nonprofit groups.
21It said the agency is protecting an "unknown ecosystem and maintains the coherence of the Lula government."
22Brazil's president is Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
23He had been president from 2003 to 2010 and permitted offshore drilling during that term.
24The large oil projects helped pay for improvements in Brazilian health, education and welfare programs.
25Some members of Lula's Workers' Party political group consider oil money as a way to increase social spending.
26Lula now says he supports the environment.
27His promises about protecting the Amazon rain forest helped him win last year's election over former President Jair Bolsonaro.
28Experts and activists say Lula's reputation would be hurt if his government permitted the offshore drilling project.
29Suely Araujo is a former head of Brazil's environment agency and now works with the Climate Observatory.
30Araujo said the decision to block the drilling project means Brazil should also start to end its dependence on fossil fuels, like oil and gas.
31However, not everyone from the area close to the drilling site was pleased with the decision.
32Randolfe Rodrigues is a senator from Amapa State, the state that stood to gain the most if Petrobras found oil.
33He said the restriction on oil exploration will hurt the development of Amapa.
34He said he would put a group together to fight the decision.
35Petrobras said its proposal did not violate any requirements set forth by the government, and its exploration area was far away from the river.
36The oil company said it would continue to look for new drilling areas, but also work to find a way to drill in the area it first targeted.
37There are other projects for the environment agency to consider.
38They include the repair of a highway through the rain forest, construction of a major railway for transporting grain and the renewal of a hydroelectric dam's operating permit.
39I'm Dan Friedell.
1Brazil's environmental agency recently refused to give oil company Petrobras permission to search for oil under the ocean near the mouth of the Amazon River. 2Petrobras is Brazil's state-run oil company. 3The oil company wanted to start a drilling project near the northern coast of Brazil, in an area known as the Tapajos Basin. Activists describe the area as "unique" and say it contains plants and coral reefs that are sensitive to chemicals. A number of environmental organizations pushed the agency to reject Petrobras' application. 4When the environmental agency's leader, Rodrigo Agostinho announced his decision last week, he said the company did not fix some "technical inconsistencies" in its proposal. 5The head of Petrobras is Jean Paul Prates. He said the company has never had an oil leak during offshore projects. His word, however, was not enough to persuade the agency of the project's safety. 6Petrobras noted that it would appeal the decision. The oil company believes exploring the northern coast is important for the nation's economy. Brazil's oil production, Petrobras said, is expected to reach its highest level soon and then start to drop off. The company planned to invest half of its $6 billion exploration budget for the next five years in the area. 7Agostinho called the area "a new exploratory frontier with high... vulnerability" in his announcement. 8Groups such as the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace were among the organizations asking the agency to reject Petrobras' request. 9Another group was Health and Happiness, a Brazilian nonprofit led by Caetano Scannavino. He was pleased with the decision and said it was an example of "prioritizing science in the service of the collective." 10He went on to say any mistake in the area would hurt the environment. If the agency had permitted drilling, he said, it would be going against the Brazilian government's "promise of a decarbonized future." 11The Climate Observatory is a network of environmental nonprofit groups. It said the agency is protecting an "unknown ecosystem and maintains the coherence of the Lula government." 12Brazil's president is Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He had been president from 2003 to 2010 and permitted offshore drilling during that term. The large oil projects helped pay for improvements in Brazilian health, education and welfare programs. Some members of Lula's Workers' Party political group consider oil money as a way to increase social spending. 13Lula now says he supports the environment. His promises about protecting the Amazon rain forest helped him win last year's election over former President Jair Bolsonaro. 14Experts and activists say Lula's reputation would be hurt if his government permitted the offshore drilling project. 15Suely Araujo is a former head of Brazil's environment agency and now works with the Climate Observatory. Araujo said the decision to block the drilling project means Brazil should also start to end its dependence on fossil fuels, like oil and gas. 16However, not everyone from the area close to the drilling site was pleased with the decision. Randolfe Rodrigues is a senator from Amapa State, the state that stood to gain the most if Petrobras found oil. 17He said the restriction on oil exploration will hurt the development of Amapa. He said he would put a group together to fight the decision. 18Petrobras said its proposal did not violate any requirements set forth by the government, and its exploration area was far away from the river. The oil company said it would continue to look for new drilling areas, but also work to find a way to drill in the area it first targeted. 19There are other projects for the environment agency to consider. They include the repair of a highway through the rain forest, construction of a major railway for transporting grain and the renewal of a hydroelectric dam's operating permit. 20I'm Dan Friedell. 21Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 22______________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24inconsistency -n. the quality of not having all parts agreeing with each other or of not being the same 25frontier -n. an area that distant from where people are and is not known well 26vulnerability -n. a weakness or a quality that permits something or someone to be hurt or damaged 27prioritize -v. to make something important so it will be dealt with soon 28decarbonized -adj. (environmental) related to effort to reduce the amount of carbon-based fuels used for energy 29ecosystem -n. everything that exists in a particular environment and that is connected with its surroundings 30coherence -n. the quality of being well organized and logical 31reputation -n. other peoples' opinion about a person 32______________________________________________________________________ 33We want to hear from you. Is this the start of a new chapter for the environment in Brazil? 34Here is how our comment system works: 35Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.