Brazil Sells Amazon’s Oil Future While Indigenous Guardians Fight Back

While the world talks about saving the Amazon, Brazil’s getting ready to drill right into it. Petrobras just got the green light to sink 15 offshore wells along Brazil’s equatorial margin, right where the Amazon River dumps into the Atlantic. The price tag? A cool $3 billion.

Brazil’s getting ready to drill right where the Amazon meets the Atlantic—15 wells, $3 billion.

IBAMA’s president signed off on this environmental protection plan on May 19, 2025. Strange timing, considering the agency’s own people recommended against it. But hey, when has that ever stopped anyone?

President Lula’s backing this whole operation. His logic? Brazil needs the oil money to fund its clean energy conversion. Right. Because nothing says “environmental protection” like drilling for more fossil fuels. The government wants to boost oil and gas production by over 20% by 2030. Climate leadership, Brazilian style.

The Federal Public Ministry isn’t buying it. They’re demanding the suspension of an auction set for June 17, where 47 more oil blocks are up for grabs. Their complaints? Missing environmental studies. Zero Indigenous consultations. You know, just minor details.

Indigenous communities haven’t been consulted about any of this. Neither have the civil society groups who’ve been protecting these areas for decades. Oil companies are apparently creating “smokescreens” to push their drilling plans through. Shocking, really. Mining projects have already shown how this plays out – they’ve been linked to rights abuses against Indigenous and afro-descendant communities across Brazil.

Environmental groups are calling this exactly what it is: a massive step backward. These new drilling sites threaten critical Amazon and coastal ecosystems. Nobody’s done proper environmental impact studies. The risk of oil spills? Through the roof. Up to 85% of Petrobras’ planned extraction is unprofitable under a 1.5°C climate scenario.

Here’s the clincher. Critics warn these investments could become “stranded assets” as the world shifts to clean energy. Brazil’s basically betting billions that the planet will keep burning oil long enough to make this profitable. This contradicts climate science showing that forests like the Amazon absorb 3.5 billion tons of carbon annually, providing a natural solution to fossil fuel emissions.

The Federal Public Ministry’s requests aren’t legally binding, but they can sue if ignored. Will they? Probably. Will it matter? That’s the billion-dollar question.

Brazil’s selling off the Amazon’s future, one oil block at a time. The Indigenous guardians and environmental watchdogs are fighting back, but they’re up against a government that thinks drilling for oil is somehow the path to clean energy.