Lula backs responsible oil exploration in Brazil’s Equatorial Margin
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva advocated on Monday (May 18) for oil exploration in the Amazon River Mouth Basin, part of the Equatorial Margin. He stressed that the activity must be carried out responsibly to avoid environmental damage.
“No one cares more about the Amazon than we do,” Lula said, referring to his government.
The president made the remarks during a visit to Paulínia (Replan), Petrobras’ largest refinery, in the state of São Paulo. He argued that exploration is also important for national sovereignty and to prevent other countries from encroaching on the area.
“Before long, Trump will think it’s his and go there. He thought Canada was his, he thought Greenland was his. He thought the Gulf of Mexico was his. Who’s to say he won’t think the Equatorial Margin is his too? So we’re going to occupy the area and explore for oil with the utmost responsibility, ensuring that this money can be reinvested to secure the country’s future,” Lula noted.
Last year, Petrobras obtained authorization from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) to begin exploratory drilling operations in the Equatorial Margin. The region, in northern Brazil, is considered a new pre-salt frontier because of its oil potential.
Lula argued that Petrobras should be regarded as a national asset and must not be privatized. According to him, Brazilians would feel the financial impact of the war in the Middle East even more acutely if the company were already privately owned.
“Petrobras is earning more from oil exports, and prices have risen because of the war in Iran. So we are collecting part of this additional revenue through taxes on oil exports to subsidize diesel and gasoline prices, ensuring that the burden does not fall on Brazilians, truck drivers, or motorists. We are using government funds to prevent this cost from being passed on to the Brazilian people, who are not to blame for the war in Iran. The war in Iran is Trump’s fault,” the president stated.
Petrobras investments
During his visit to Paulínia, Lula also attended the announcement of BRL 37 billion in Petrobras investments in the state of São Paulo through 2030.
According to Petrobras, the funds will be allocated to strengthening refining and biorefining, logistics, exploration and production, decarbonization, and sustainable energy generation, and are expected to create 38,000 direct and indirect jobs.
About BRL 6 billion of this amount will be invested in Replan, which supplies more than 30 percent of Brazil’s territory and currently has a processing capacity of 434,000 barrels of oil per day. With the expansion project, that figure is expected to rise to 459,000 barrels per day.
“At Replan, we are advancing rapidly toward producing aviation fuel with up to 5 percent renewable content by the end of the year,” said Petrobras President Magda Chambriard.
She noted that the company is investing in expanding production at the Mexilhão gas field in the Santos Basin. She also pointed out Petrobras plans to announce soon the commercial viability of a new discovery in the Aram block, in the Santos Basin’s pre-salt layer.
The Petrobras president highlighted the company’s role in ensuring the country’s energy security, especially amid external conflicts.
“Petrobras is responsible for supplying 75 percent of the country’s diesel. But we plan to raise that to 85 percent. And, in the context of this discussion on energy security, we ask ourselves: why not 100 percent? Together with President Lula, we have committed to achieving diesel self-sufficiency in this country by 2030,” the Petrobras president said.
