LatinNews Daily - 17 August 2026

*Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras has announced that it has discovered hydrocarbon reserves in its exploratory well in the FZA-M-59 offshore block, located near the mouth of the Amazon River. A company statement cites Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard as saying that “our optimism regarding Brazil’s equatorial margin has been confirmed”. Petrobras has been ramping up its efforts to drill more oil in new frontiers, such as the waters along Brazil’s northern coasts, although the FZA oil exploration project has faced criticism from environmental groups in recent years. Following the oil giant’s announcement in October last year that the federal environmental regulator (Ibama) had approved the project, protesters carried out demonstrations during the United Nations climate change conference (COP30) which Brazil hosted in November. Critics have argued that exploring oil in the ecologically sensitive waters near the Amazon Delta undermines Brazil’s credentials as a global leader on climate action and environmental protection.