Brazil’s main environmental regulator, Ibama, has authorized state-run oil company Petrobras to drill three additional exploratory wells in the controversial Foz do Amazonas basin, clearing the path for the company to fully assess a potential new oil frontier in the country’s north. The decision permits drilling at the Manga, PAD Morpho, and Crotalus prospects in Block FZA-M-59, located approximately 175 kilometers off the coast of Amapá state. The approval is a significant regulatory victory for Petrobras and the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which views the region, part of the wider Equatorial Margin, as a strategic priority and a potential successor to Brazil’s prolific pre-salt oil province.