Judge backs Petrobras exploration license in Amapá

The Federal Court of Amapá dismissed a civil lawsuit filed by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) against the federal government, environmental agency Ibama, and Petrobras. The lawsuit sought to suspend an environmental permit granted by Ibama that allows Petrobras to drill an exploratory well to search for oil off the coast of Amapá, in the Equatorial Margin.

The ruling was issued on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, by federal judge Anselmo Gonçalves da Silva of the 1st Federal Civil Court. The judge ruled that the issue was already being litigated in two previous cases filed by the MPF and that the new suit introduced no materially new subject, merely shrinking the geographic scope of the requested order.

In his decision, the judge stated that the true aim across all these proceedings was to prevent oil exploration altogether. He cited bad faith six times, finding that prosecutors went beyond the legitimate defense of a legal thesis and used formal changes to give an old claim the appearance of novelty.

Judge Gonçalves da Silva ordered the MPF to pay a bad-faith litigation fine of 5% of the adjusted case value of BRL 793.2 million. The fine proceeds are to be split equally between the federal government, Ibama, and Petrobras.