Court suspends oil and gas concessions in 11 municipalities in AM due to lack of consultation with indigenous people

The Federal Court suspended oil and natural gas exploration contracts in 11 municipalities in Amazonas and one in Pará. The decision responds to a request from the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) and determines that activities will only be resumed after prior consultation with the indigenous populations and traditional communities affected.

The affected areas total around 869.5 thousand hectares in the Amazon Basin. According to an MPF ​​report, the projects could directly affect five indigenous lands of the Mura, Munduruku, Sateré-Mawé and Maraguá peoples, in addition to territories of riverside and quilombola communities.

The survey also points to overlap or proximity to protected areas, such as the Guajuma Environmental Protection Area (APA) and the Canumã and Uatumã Sustainable Development Reserves (RDS).

What does the decision say

The sentence was handed down by the 7th Federal Environmental and Agrarian Court of Amazonas, in a public civil action against the Union and the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP).

The decision determines:

Suspension of contracts: the Union and ANP must suspend contracts for blocks AM-T-63, AM-T-64 and AM-T-107, in addition to the Campo do Japiim Area.

Prohibition of activities: the companies Atem and Eneva cannot carry out studies or exploration activities in the areas until the consultations are concluded.

Deadline of 90 days: the Union and the ANP have three months to begin the stages of the prior consultation process.

Fine: failure to comply with the decision may result in a daily fine of R$250,000, limited to R$100 million.

g1 contacted Eneva to find out if the company has already been notified of the decision and is awaiting a response. The report also tries to locate Atem's defense.

Consultation must occur before exploration

When analyzing the case, the Federal Court highlighted that the right to prior consultation is provided for in Convention No. 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

According to the decision, the consultation must take place before the exploration blocks are offered and cannot be carried out only during the environmental licensing process.

The ruling also highlighted that consultation is mandatory even when indigenous lands are not formally demarcated.

Furthermore, public hearings and demonstrations by bodies such as the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai) do not replace direct consultation with affected communities.

The decision maintained the contracts signed in the auctions, but suspended the procedures and deadlines related to the projects until the affected people are consulted and can express their opinion on the activities.