Oiapoque, a municipality in the state of Amapá with about 30,000 inhabitants, is a remote area where less than 2% of houses have access to proper sewage treatment. Amapá is one of Brazil's poorest and underdeveloped states, and Oiapoque's economy relies on fishing, illegal gold mining, and visitors from neighboring French Guiana. This contrasts with its new role as a base for Atlantic Ocean drilling by Petrobras, which began exploratory operations on October 20, 2025, in block FZA-M-59, previously under BP's control.
One-third of Oiapoque's residents are Indigenous people from four ethnic groups living in 68 hamlets across three Indigenous lands, and 66 of these hamlets have electricity for less than 12 hours a day. Environmental and Indigenous groups have sued the Brazilian government and Petrobras to halt exploration. 5 million Brazilian reais.
Brazil's oil ambitions are central, with oil being the country's main export product for two consecutive years, surpassing soya beans. Petrobras holds a 100% stake in six blocks in the Equatorial Margin, which stretches for 2,200km along the coast of six states, including 19 'blocks' in the Amazon River mouth basin, and has begun exploring the first in a research capacity. This creates a paradox for Brazil, which positions itself as a global leader in the energy transition while aspiring to become the world's fifth-largest oil producer by 2030.
N. climate summit COP30 last year.