Brazil awaits contentious Equatorial Margin call

Political rancour is rising as politicians appeal for environmental licence to explore the mouth of the Amazon

Brazil’s government and NOC Petrobras are doubling down on efforts to explore the controversial Equatorial Margin, a vast area stretching along the coast of six northern states and comprising five geological basins. In late June, Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, reiterated his stance that exploration is crucial to growing the economy. Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira added that the basin could be the last oil and gas frontier before the consolidation of the energy transition takes full effect. “Recent massive discoveries in Guyana, not too far from the Brazilian Equatorial Margin, have sparked a lot of interest in this area, based on the hope that Brazil can repl