A Amazônia Azul e o pré-sal: novas perspectivas para o Brasil no cenário geopolítico internacional

Abstract

Brazil, nowadays, has a border that has not yet been defined, its maritime border. In order to draw the attention of society and the government, Admiral Roberto de Guimarães Carvalho, former Commander of the Navy, compared this area so little known by Brazilians to the “Green Amazon”, calling it the “Blue Amazon”. Like the green, rich and extensive Amazon, the Blue Amazon has many riches that are unknown for the time being. With Brazil's request to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLPC), for its extension beyond the legally recognized 200 nautical miles, this area will reach a maritime area of about 5.7 million km², providing much more natural resources to be explored, especially oil. This work presents the relationship between oil and the Blue Amazon, and the consequences for Brazil in the international geopolitical scenario. Initially, it describes the origin and concept of geopolitics and presents Brazilian geopolitical thought facing the sea, especially the South Atlantic, warning about the importance of this maritime region and emphasizing the need for the presence of our naval resources in this region. Then, it presents the concept of the Blue Amazon and its dimensions, approaching the legal issues about the maritime limits of the Coastal States and the current position of the Brazilian proposal for the extension of the continental shelf with the CLPC. Then, it highlights the potential and riches of the Blue Amazon, such as mineral resources, fishing activity and oil, and presents government policies aimed at exploring and exploiting this immense potential. It then highlights the geopolitical value of oil as the main energy source in the world and, as it is a non- renewable resource, the search for alternative solutions to replace it. Soon after, it highlights the importance of oil from the Blue Amazon, its strategic role in national development and the discovery, by PETROBRAS, of immense offshore oil fields in the pre-salt layer. Finally, it draws attention to the greed and international interests that may arise regarding the riches of the Blue Amazon, especially oil, and the responsibility of the Brazilian Navy in the defense and protection of this rich Brazilian maritime heritage that will soon place Brazil as a new protagonist in the global geopolitical context.