0:00

Obama is Brazil's environmental

0:02

agency. The

0:05

agency denied Petrobras' first proposal

0:07

to do exploratory drilling last

0:09

year over environmental

0:12

worries. The

0:14

indigenous people who live in the

0:16

area also objected. But

0:19

some political leaders, including

0:21

President Luis Inacio Lula da

0:23

Silva, seem to support

0:26

the oil company's appeal. Last

0:29

September, the president said the company

0:31

should be able to research the

0:33

oil possibilities in the area. He

0:37

said it was a national interest. Energy

0:41

Minister Alexandre Silveira recently said

0:44

Brazil should know the potential

0:46

of what exists along

0:48

the northeastern coast. The

0:52

support has energized Petrobras'

0:54

leader, Jean-Paul Praties.

0:59

Praties talked about the area, known

1:02

as the equatorial margin, as

1:05

perhaps the last frontier of oil

1:07

for Brazil. The

1:10

company wants to start looking for oil

1:12

in the area called Foch do Amazonas.

1:15

It has that name because it is in the

1:17

area of the mouth of the Amazon River. The

1:21

area is thought to

1:23

be similar to places

1:25

off the coast of the South

1:27

American country of Guyana, which

1:30

is being explored by the Exxon

1:32

oil company. The

1:35

head of Obama is Rodrigo

1:37

Agostinho. He

1:39

said the agency would make a

1:41

decision about giving Petrobras a license

1:44

to explore the area early this year,

1:47

but the decision has been delayed. Reporting

1:51

by Reuters News Agency

1:53

describes a growing indigenous

1:56

campaign against Petrobras' appeal.

2:00

FUNAI is Brazil's Agency

2:02

for Indigenous Protection. Last

2:05

December, the group asked

2:07

IBAMA to carry out studies

2:10

on the effects of drilling

2:12

in Foch do Amazones.

2:16

The studies must happen

2:18

before IBAMA can give

2:20

a license to Petrobas.

2:24

In addition, an indigenous

2:26

group called the CCPIO,

2:29

representing 60 villages in

2:32

the area, asked

2:34

Brazilian federal government lawyers

2:36

to look into the

2:38

potential drilling license. They

2:41

said their rights were being

2:43

violated. In

2:46

2022, the government lawyers,

2:49

or prosecutors, slowed down

2:52

the process. They

2:54

said IBAMA needed to consult

2:57

the local communities. Documents

3:00

seen by Reuters show

3:02

the CCPIO asked

3:05

the prosecutors to oversee

3:07

13 months of talks

3:10

starting last December. If

3:14

the process continues without a

3:16

change, the soonest Brazil

3:19

could permit Petrobas to drill

3:21

would be 2025. However,

3:26

the country will be

3:28

hosting the COP30 climate

3:30

meeting and it

3:32

is unlikely Brazil would want

3:34

to announce a new drilling

3:36

plan at the same time.

3:40

Petrobas said a decision needs

3:42

to be made and the

3:45

time for talks with indigenous

3:47

people has passed. The

3:50

oil company said the consultations

3:52

should have happened at the

3:54

beginning of the process. However,

3:57

CCPIO and

4:00

federal lawyers said a

4:03

consultation must happen before

4:05

drilling is permitted. The

4:09

Silvers government promised to

4:11

protect the Amazon area

4:14

and indigenous groups. However,

4:17

the president also knows

4:19

the value of oil

4:21

development. Reuters

4:23

says he is trying to

4:25

balance both sides. Silvera,

4:29

the energy minister, said

4:31

a single successful drilling

4:34

area could produce 5.6 billion

4:36

barrels of oil. The

4:41

discovery would be Brazil's biggest in

4:44

more than 10 years. Petrobus

4:49

argues that a drilling area 175

4:51

kilometers off the coast will

4:56

not affect the indigenous people

4:58

of northern Brazil. But

5:01

activists say drilling could hurt

5:03

the water environment and

5:06

limit the native people's ability

5:08

to fish and make a

5:10

living. The

5:13

CCPIO noted that

5:15

it is not opposed to the search for oil,

5:18

but it wants to be consulted

5:20

before the exploration begins. Brazil

5:23

signed an international agreement that

5:26

says governments must talk

5:28

with native groups before starting

5:30

a project that might

5:32

change their lifestyles. The

5:35

news of a possible oil project

5:37

starting next year has gotten

5:39

the attention of migrant workers. A

5:43

lawmaker in Amapaste, Inacio

5:46

Montero, said

5:48

workers are arriving in the town

5:50

of Ollapoche looking for jobs in

5:52

the oil industry, although there

5:54

are no jobs yet. Montero

5:57

said he talks with the oil

6:00

industry. indigenous leaders all the

6:02

time about the good

6:04

oil could bring, including

6:07

better social programs, more

6:10

infrastructure like roads and bridges,

6:12

new jobs, and money from

6:15

taxes. However,

6:18

local people like 25-year-old

6:20

Luene Kerapuna are

6:22

concerned. She told a group

6:24

at the COP 28 climate meeting

6:26

in Dubai that

6:29

politicians and Petrobras are trying to

6:31

silence her people. She

6:34

said her people are worried that an

6:36

oil spill could bring in polluted water.

6:40

Indigenous leaders also worry that the

6:42

support for protecting their land and

6:45

waters is disappearing. They point

6:47

to a 2023 hearing

6:49

that Montero called just

6:51

days after the first denial

6:54

of Petrobras' license. Top

6:57

leaders in Amapa State came

6:59

together in Oyepoke to

7:02

push again for the license. There

7:05

were reports that a man wearing

7:07

a white shirt and a traditional

7:10

indigenous head covering said

7:12

the Native people supported drilling.

7:15

However, CCPIO

7:17

leaders said the man

7:20

did not speak for them. CCPIO's

7:24

coordinator, Kachike

7:26

Edmilsen Olivera said,

7:29

this is very concerning. That's

7:31

why we are saying that we already feel

7:34

threatened. He said Petrobras

7:36

misreports the statements of indigenous

7:38

leaders. We never

7:41

sat down and reached an agreement for

7:43

approval, he added. I'm

7:45

Dan Friedel. And I'm

7:48

Gina Bennett.