The Federal Prosecutor of the State of Amapá has recommended the suspension of environmental licensing to BP and Total for their planned deep water drilling near the unique and vulnerable Amazon Reef biome.
The Prosecutor has intervened with IBAMA, the Brazilian environmental regulator responsible for issuing environmental licenses to operate, and will take legal action to suspend the licensing process if IBAMA rejects or fails to respond to their concerns within ten days.
If IBAMA accepts the Prosecutor’s assessment, BP and Total will need to start a new Environmental Impact Assessment. The key issues the Prosecutor has raised are the risks to the unique Amazon Reef which has not yet been adequately documented, and to the coastlines of neighbouring countries which could be exposed to an oil spill.
According to the Prosecutor’s public statement, Total and BP "did not take into account the important ecosystem of the coral reef of the mouth of the Amazon River. Thus, exploration in an area close to [the reef system] corals, without adequate environmental impact study, can cause irreparable damage to this unique and little known biome." (...)
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