Brazil Petrobras Blocked From Drilling at Key Offshore Zone

Brazil’s environmental authority has rejected Petrobras’s request to drill its first well at an offshore oil frontier known as the Equatorial Margin, delivering a major setback to the state-controlled oil company’s exploration plans.

Ibama, as the agency is known, highlighted the extreme social and environmental sensitivity of the biologically diverse region that is home to indigenous lands, mangroves, coral reefs and endangered species. It has been a controversial location for drilling and has drawn concern from Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva.