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Oil from the Amazon? Proposal to drill at river’s mouth worries researchers

Energy firm Petrobras says any leaked oil would not reach the Brazilian coast, but scientists are concerned about a vast reef nearby.
  1. Meghie Rodrigues
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True colour satellite image of the mouth of the river Amazon.

Water flows with great force from the Amazon River into the sea at its mouth. Credit: Universal Images Group North America LLC/Alamy

A Brazilian petrochemical company wants to drill exploratory oil wells in the ocean near the mouth of the Amazon, one of the world’s biggest rivers. Although Brazil’s environmental-protection agency has so far rejected the state-run firm’s request, researchers worry that the plan might one day be approved, encouraging further offshore drilling in the area. In particular, they are concerned about the effects of the drilling — and inevitable oil leaks — on a vast reef system nearby.

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Nature 619, 680-681 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02187-3

References

  1. Francini-Filho, R. B. et al. Front. Mar. Sci. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00142 (2018).

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