A Coral Reef Threatens to Derail Brazil’s Best Bet on Oil Output Growth
- Petrobras to move drillship after government blocked activity
- Company has earmarked $3 billion for region near the reef
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A reef habitat near the mouth of the Amazon River is threatening to derail Brazil’s biggest bet on expanding oil output.
State-controlled producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, is shutting down a drillship at the Foz do Amazonas exploration block and will put it to work on other offshore sites in the country’s southeast, Petrobras said in an emailed statement. The company is appealing a decision earlier this month by Brazilian environmental agency Ibama to block drilling near the the 3,600-square-mile (9,500-square-kilometer) reef.