Chevron Acquires Blocks in Brazil's Foz do Amazonas Basin
June 17, 2025
Exxon Mobil and Chevron on Tuesday took their first steps toward eventually exploring oil in Brazil's Foz do Amazonas basin, scooping up offshore blocks auctioned by the country in the promising but environmentally-sensitive area.
The move marks the first recent endeavor from companies other than Brazil's state-run oil giant Petrobras in the ecologically biodiverse area, triggering backlash from environmentalists who say it will increase the risk of contamination of water sources and ecosystems that both wildlife and Brazilians depend on.
Plans by Chevron partnering with China's CNPC and Exxon with oil giant Petrobras to drill for oil in Foz do Amazonas basin, located off the coast of the Amazon rainforest, are controversial due to the environmental importance of the region and have faced delays in obtaining permits.
Two consortia involving Petrobras and Exxon Mobil secured ten blocks in total, with the Brazilian company acquiring five blocks as operator, while the U.S. giant purchased the other five as operator.
Chevron in a consortium with China's state-owned CNPC acquired a total of nine blocks, with Chevron as operator.
The area, home to vast coral reefs and coastal Indigenous communities, is considered a frontier for oil exploration as it shares geology with nearby Guyana, where Exxon Mobil is developing huge fields.
The auction result was celebrated by Brazil's Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira, who said that exploration in the Foz do Amazonas region was a "winning ticket" to reduce poverty in northern Brazil.
"The interest from the U.S. companies, Chevron and Exxon, which already operate in Guyana, demonstrates that our potential is gigantic," Silveira said in a statement.
LICENSING HURDLES
Petrobras has long been seeking clearance to drill in the area. A decision by environmental agency Ibama last month let it move a step closer to the goal, but came with an important caveat for future permits in the area.
Chief Executive Magda Chambriard told Reuters earlier this month she believes Petrobras will clear the last step to getting a permit to drill in the second half of July.
"We scooped up what we wanted and seeing more companies getting in, the majors, puts more pressure on the license for exploration in the Equatorial Margin to be granted," a Petrobras source said, referring to a broader offshore region of which Foz do Amazonas is a key basin.
Silveira said he was certain Ibama would speed up the process of granting licenses after the auction, which happened as Indigenous organizations and non-governmental organizations like the Arayara Institute protesting outside of the auction venue against what they called "doomsday auction."
"Drilling new wells will increase the risk of environmental disasters, worsen the climate crisis and deepen inequalities," Greenpeace Brasil's oceans coordinator, Mariana Andrade, said in a statement.
Brazil's government is set to obtain 989 million reais ($180.79 million) in signing bonus for auctioning off 34 blocks.
($1 = 5.4704 reais)
(Reuters)
