(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Federal prosecutors in Brazil's Amapá state have asked the environmental regulator, Ibama, to hold back an operating license for Petrobras at the FZA-M-59 block in the Foz do Amazonas Basin.

They want the company to rerun its emergency drill and prove it can execute the plan under real-world conditions. Ibama has 72 hours to say whether it will follow the recommendation; if not, prosecutors say they may go to court to stop the licensing.

The flashpoint is an August pre-operational drill designed to test Petrobras 's Individual Emergency Plan and wildlife rescue plan. The company mobilized more than 400 people, vessels, aircraft, and a drilling rig 175 kilometers off Amapá.

A later Ibama technical review found that the exercise strayed from the approved playbook, using boats and strategies not included in the plan and conducting nighttime operations that conflicted with safety guidance.

It also registered two night-navigation mishaps, including a grounded medical support vessel and an incident involving a fishing net. The team did meet the 24-hour target to begin rescuing affected wildlife, but only by a narrow margin: 23 hours and 24 minutes.



Ibama's licensing directorate nonetheless approved the drill“in concept” and recommended granting the license once technical fixes are built in, with a fresh drill to follow.
Petrobras Faces Crossroads on Equatorial Margin Drilling
Prosecutors call that contradictory: if the plan could not be properly executed, they argue, the process should pause until Petrobras demonstrates it can perform under the rules.

The story behind the story is timing and cost. The Equatorial Margin is Brazil's next big offshore frontier, geologically akin to the Guyana-Suriname hot zone. It promises jobs, revenue, and supply security-but it's remote, biodiverse, and hard to police in an emergency.

Keeping a deepwater rig idle is expensive; industry estimates put daily costs around R$4,000,000 ($755,000), raising pressure to move ahead even as regulators demand proof of readiness.

Why this matters: Brazil is stress-testing how it balances energy expansion with environmental safeguards in a sensitive region.

A demand for a new drill could delay the project but strengthen preparedness; a license now could speed investment but trigger a legal fight. The next few days will signal which path Brazil chooses.

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