"We received it with enthusiasm", says family who found oil in Ceará
The confirmation that the dark liquid that gushed in the backyard of a farm is crude oil, this Tuesday (19), brought hope to the family of the site's owner and farmer Sidrônio Moreira, resident of Tabuleiro do Norte, in the interior of Ceará.
After the report from the ANP (National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels) released this week, the family celebrated the news, but remains grounded in terms of the future and the challenges of the discovery.
"We received it with great enthusiasm, however, we know that it is a long, time-consuming process, and that it practically only started now", reported Saullo Santiago, the farmer's son, to CNN Brasil.
He highlights that the next steps involve rigorous geological analyzes and the possible opening of an exploration block for bidding. Only after a company shows interest will the family be able to receive some type of financial compensation.
Can a farmer make a profit from oil found in Ceará? Understand
In November 2024, suffering from a lack of water in Sítio Santo Estevão, Sidrônio took out a loan of R$15,000, even committing his retirement money, to drill a well on the land. Instead of reaching the water table, the excavations revealed a viscous, flammable substance.
"We didn't get [water] and today we can't dig another well, because the probability of the same liquid appearing is high. It ends up that we're just paying, investing, but not getting the expected return", says Saullo.
Understand the case
Last Tuesday (19), the ANP laboratory conclusively confirmed that it was a sample of crude oil.
The agency opened an administrative process to evaluate the feasibility of including the area in the OPC (Permanent Concession Offer), the main type of auction for the sector in Brazil.
Liquid found on site in Ceará is oil, says ANP | CNN 360º
However, the ANP warns that there are no defined deadlines or guarantee that commercial exploration will actually occur, as the process depends on approvals from ministries and environmental bodies.
Who owns the oil?
According to the Federal Constitution and Brazilian legislation, subsoil mineral resources belong exclusively to the Union, which means that the farmer does not own the oil found on his land.
However, if the deposit proves commercially viable and extraction begins, the legislation guarantees the payment of a share - which varies between 0.5% and 1% of the value of production - to the property owner, in addition to compensation for the use of the area.
The Moreira family reported that they have no interest in selling the 49-hectare property, inherited from their ancestors and where they have lived for more than 20 years. They prefer to wait cautiously for government investigations to unfold.
Source: CNN