{"id":40337,"date":"2026-04-03T22:06:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=40337"},"modified":"2026-04-03T22:06:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:06:21","slug":"if-they-pollute-our-rivers-what-will-become-of-us-the-town-divided-between-hope-and-fear-in-brazils-amazon-oil-rush-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=40337","title":{"rendered":"\u2018If they pollute our rivers, what will become of us?\u2019: the town divided between hope and fear in Brazil\u2019s Amazon oil rush | Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"


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C<\/span>overing a densely forested area larger than Wales, the municipality and city of Oiapoque<\/a>, in the state of Amap\u00e1<\/a>, is an isolated yet renowned part of Brazil<\/a>, thanks to a popular national saying. \u201cFrom Oiapoque to Chu\u00ed\u201d highlights the country\u2019s northernmost and southernmost points, respectively, illustrating its vastness.<\/p>\n

Although well known, it is a remote area with about 30,000 inhabitants where less than 2% of the houses<\/a> have access to proper sewage treatment. One-third of its residents are Indigenous people from four ethnic groups living in 68 hamlets across three Indigenous lands, 66 of which have electricity for less than 12 hours a day.<\/p>\n

Yet now there is hope for significant development, although this is coupled with great fear.<\/p>\n

At the northern edge of Brazil\u2019s coastline, Oiapoque has been transformed into an operational base for Atlantic Ocean ultra-deepwater drilling by state-controlled company Petrobras \u2013 one of the probable new energy frontiers of Brazil<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>The small city of Oiapoque is being transformed as people are drawn to it by potential oil production, which could start as soon as 2032.<\/span> Photograph: Claber Araujo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spanning four other countries, the Equatorial Margin<\/a> in Brazil stretches for 2,200km (1,370 miles) along the coast of six states, including 19 \u201cblocks\u201d in the Amazon River mouth basin, whose exploration rights have been acquired by several companies<\/a>. Petrobras holds a 100% stake in six blocks and has begun exploring the first in a research capacity.<\/p>\n

Amid a climate and an energy crisis, many see it as a paradox for Brazil to position itself as a global leader in the energy transition<\/a> while aspiring to become the world\u2019s fifth-largest oil producer by 2030<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Oil has already been Brazil\u2019s main export product<\/a> for two consecutive years, surpassing soya beans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis paradox is present in any country that takes seriously the transition away from fossil fuels, as the global economy is organised around them,\u201d says Miriam Garcia, senior climate policy manager at World Resources Institute (WRI) Brasil. \u201cWe still need to increase energy efficiency and eliminate energy poverty by providing universal access to affordable renewable energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first block in which Petrobras began exploratory drilling on 20 October 2025 was FZA-M-59<\/a>, previously under BP\u2019s control<\/a>. Building a safety structure in Oiapoque, located 175km (110 miles) away, was one of the requirements set by Ibama, the federal environmental regulator, to grant the research licence.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Exploratory drilling at the Morpho well, part of block FZA-M-59 in the Foz do Amazonas basin.<\/span> Photograph: Courtesy of Petrobras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a fire extinguisher: it has to be nearby,\u201d says Rodrigo Agostinho, president of Ibama. \u201cAn accident risk is not only related to Petrobras, as there is already very strong neighbouring oil activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concerns of nature campaigners and environmental authorities were given credence on 4 January, 76 days after drilling began, when the first incident occurred<\/a>. Petrobras reported a leak of 113 barrels<\/a> (18 cubic metres) of drilling fluid.<\/p>\n

According to the company, \u201cthe fluid meets permitted toxicity limits and is biodegradable, with no damage to the environment or to people\u201d. Yet Ibama expressed \u201cserious concern<\/a>\u201d and fined the company 2.5m Brazilian reais (\u00a3360,000).<\/p>\n

A technical report<\/a>, now under seal, said the chemical contains enough toxic substances to affect marine animals\u2019 basic functions until the chemicals are completely degraded. Other key organisms may have been eliminated in the affected area, which changes the dynamics of the food chain.<\/p>\n

Petrobras halted operations for more than 30 days, reported the causes and was authorised by the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) to resume after replacing all sealing elements and training the workers involved.<\/p>\n

In Oiapoque, the population is divided. If the Equatorial Margin\u2019s potential is confirmed, production would begin between 2032 and 2035. This prospect is drawing in new residents who are interested in developing safety infrastructure, improving air transport, and expecting projections of 54,000 direct and indirect jobs<\/a>, along with a 60% increase in Amap\u00e1\u2019s GDP.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>The Foz do Amazonas basin, where 19 of the blocks designated for oil exploration are located.<\/span> Photograph: Enrico Marone\/Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Petrobras says it will prioritise local labour, as it did in the Urucu field, with the workforce largely made up of people from the Amazon region.<\/p>\n

For the time being, the outlook seems realistic. A rescue exercise conducted in August generated 50m Brazilian reais<\/a> <\/strong>of economic activity in goods and services, equivalent to 10% of Oiapoque\u2019s GDP. Food and rent prices have risen<\/a>; 800 students<\/a> are waiting for vacancies in the municipal school system; formal and makeshift buildings are going up in seven new neighbourhoods in deforested areas.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Edmilson dos Santos Oliveira of the Council of Chiefs of the Indigenous Peoples of Oiapoque.<\/span> Photograph: Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But development is threatened by the city\u2019s history of political instability and recurrent cases of corruption<\/a>. The mayor and deputy mayor had their mandates annulled for vote-buying<\/a>, with extraordinary elections scheduled for 12 April.<\/p>\n

Environmental consequences have also begun. \u201cAt first, it was the daily low-flying aircraft and helicopter flights. Birds fled far away, no one knows where,\u201d says Edmilson dos Santos Oliveira, general coordinator of the Council of Chiefs of the Indigenous Peoples of Oiapoque. \u201cWe have survived for thousands of years by taking [our livelihood] from nature. If they pollute our rivers, what will become of us?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Equatorial Margin is known for its strong, complex ocean currents. It hosts one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on the planet, home to a rare type of mangrove<\/a> and a coral reef system<\/a> that are regulators of global temperatures.<\/p>\n