Auction of 327 oil blocks threatens indigenous lands and conservation units, warns NGO

Of the 327 oil blocs auctioned by the National Oil and Gas Agency (ANP) in the 2nd Permanent Offering Cycle, only 17 were sold - the equivalent of 5%. Although the volume can be considered low, R$ 56.6 million were raised, more than double the previous cycle, in 2019, according to the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo. Most of the blocks for sale were in land, reassuring the objective of interiorization of the oil industry in places previously explored only by Petrobras, the national state owned company.

The blocks offered in the Amazon region worry environmentalists. A preliminary study to the auction, promoted by the NGO 350.org, points out that the exploration areas, if sold, can cause significant social and environmental damage in 47 Indigenous Lands (IT) and 22 Conservation Units (UC) located near the extraction sites. The hydraulic fracturing method, known as fracking, in which a perforated vertical well receives an injection of water together with chemical solvents and sand, under great pressure, is pointed out as especially harmful. Among the risks is “contamination of surface and underground water resources” due to the toxic substance injected, local hybrid insecurity, since the technique demands “excessive use of water” and threatens “the food security of small farmers, indigenous peoples and traditional peoples,” the report says.

The document identifies dozens of social and environmental impacts from oil and gas exploration, including the territorial threat to indigenous and traditional communities and the increase in burning and deforestation in occupied areas.