🛢️ Black gold, green irony

OIL AND GAS

Brazil rattles environmentalists as it pushes on with mega oil auction

Brazil will hold one of its biggest oil auctions in recent history today, offering up 172 on- and offshore exploration blocks. The government hopes to collect at least BRL 444 million (USD 80.8 million) in signature bonuses from energy companies eyeing untapped reserves, many of them located in ecologically sensitive areas. 

More than two-thirds of the blocks are in so-called “new frontier” zones, including 63 in the highly controversial Equatorial Margin — an oceanic stretch off the northern and northeastern coast that is a high-risk, high-reward venture.

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil behemoth, has long sought environmental approval to explore what may be vast, untapped oil reserves along the Equatorial Margin. The company recently cleared another regulatory hurdle in its race for a permit to drill in Block 59, an offshore tract roughly 175 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon River…

🔒 This was a free preview; the rest is behind our paywall

Don’t miss out! Upgrade to unlock full access. The process takes only seconds with Apple Pay or Stripe. Become a member.

Why you should subscribe

We’re here for readers who want to truly understand Brazil and Latin America — a region too often ignored or misrepresented by the international media.

Since 2017, our reporting has been powered by paid subscribers. They’re the reason we can keep a full-time team of 10 journalists across Brazil and Argentina, delivering sharp, independent coverage every day.

If you value our work, subscribing is the best way to keep it going — and growing.

Our annual plan goes for just USD 0.52 a day — but the value you'll get back from it is truly immeasurable. So… what’s stopping you from joining right now?