Brazil auctions off several Amazon oil sites despite environmentalists
and Indigenous protests
[June 18, 2025] By
FABIANO MAISONNAVE
BRASILANDIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil auctioned off several land and
offshore potential oil sites near the Amazon River on Tuesday as it aims
to expand production in untapped regions despite protests from
environmental and Indigenous groups.
The event came months before Brazil is to host the U.N.’s first climate
talks held in the Amazon. The protesters outside Tuesday's venue warned
of potential risks that oil drilling poses to sensitive ecosystems and
Indigenous communities in the Amazon.
A luxury Rio de Janeiro hotel hosted the auction conducted by the
National Oil Agency. Most of the 172 oil blocks for sale are located in
areas with no current production, such as 47 offshore locations close to
the mouth of the Amazon River and two sites inland in the Amazon near
Indigenous territories.
Nineteen offshore blocks were awarded to Chevron, ExxonMobil, Petrobras
and CNPC. The oil companies see the area as highly promising because it
shares geological characteristics with Guyana, where some of the largest
offshore oil discoveries of the 21st century have been made.
This region is considered to have high potential risk due to strong
currents and the proximity to the Amazon seashore.
Under public pressure from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the
Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources,
known as IBAMA, approved an emergency plan allowing state-run Petrobras
to conduct exploratory drilling in a block near the mouth of the Amazon
River, the last step to grant an environmental license.
“It’s regrettable and concerning that blocks are being acquired in a
basin that has not yet received environmental licensing,” Nicole
Oliveira, executive director of the environmental nonprofit Arayara,
which tried to block the auction in court.
“This is an irresponsible move by the National Oil Agency and a very
risky one for the companies involved," Oliveira told The Associated
Press. "We will continue litigating to prevent the contracts from being
signed and the blocks from being explored.”
The auction wrapped up with only 34 oil blocks awarded.
Brazil´s oil agency noted that the signing bonuses — one-time payments
made by the winning companies — totaled $180 million, a record for
auctions of this kind. An agency representative said the highest premium
was for a block located near the mouth of the Amazon River, which drew a
nearly 3,000% markup.
Oliveira took part in a peaceful protest that gathered about 200 people
outside the auction site, from environmentalists to Indigenous leaders.
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An Indigenous man protests against the auction of dozens of oil
blocks, including blocks near the mouth of the Amazon River, in Rio
de Janeiro, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
 “We came to Rio to repudiate the
auction,” said Giovane Tapura of the Manoki, an Amazon tribe. “We
would have liked to be consulted and to see studies on how the oil
drilling could affect us. None of this has been done.”
In a recorded opening statement at the start of the event, Brazil’s
National Oil Agency said the auctions are part of the country’s
energy diversification strategy aimed at transitioning to a
low-carbon economy and that contracts signed with the winning
companies include measures to reduce carbon intensity in production
activities, as well as mandatory investments in energy transition
projects.
Brazil has increased crude oil production, which became the
country’s top export for the first time last year, surpassing
soybeans.
The auction is part of the federal government's goal to maintain and
even expand output beyond 2030, when production from current oil
blocks under exploration is expected to decline. Brazil gets most of
its electricity from hydropower and other green energies.
The U.N. climate talks will be held in the city of Belem, close to
the mouth of the Amazon. Critics say it's a contradiction that
Brazil's president is pushing for increased fossil fuel production
while trying to cast himself as an environmental champion.
Claudio Angelo, head of international policy at Climate Observatory,
a coalition of 133 environmental, civil society and academic
organizations, told reporters ahead of the auction that Brazil is
both undermining its own standing ahead of the climate talks and
undermining climate protection efforts.
“The Brazilian government is endangering everyone’s future since
science has been crystal clear about the need to stop the expansion
of fossil fuels everywhere in the world," he said.
___
AP journalist Diarlei Rodrigues contributed to this report from Rio
de Janeiro.
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