The oil company Petra Energia, in Minas Gerais, will have to repair environmental damage resulting from the lack of maintenance in 24 abandoned wells in the São Francisco Basin. According to a decision by the Federal Regional Court of the 6th Region (TRF 6), the concessionaire is responsible for the area, even after the termination of exploration contracts.  In 2024, the Federal Attorney General's Office (AGU) obtained a judicial blockade of R$69 million in company assets to ensure resources destined for the future environmental recovery of the affected regions. TRF 6 fully reestablished the determinations made in the first instance. Related news: Level of the São Francisco River exceeds alert level. Paths of Reporting: Vale do São Francisco, the technological hinterland. São Francisco River will have a new waterway to transport cargo to the NE. The court ordered Petra Energia to present a plan for the definitive and safe deactivation of the wells and other structures, the environmental recovery of the affected areas and the updating of technical information before the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), author of the action. The judgment also validated the technical elements produced by the ANP in inspections carried out in 2017 and 2022, in which it recognizes current and concrete environmental risk arising from the lack of maintenance of structures. Fundamentals of action In the public civil action, the ANP maintained that the company's liability is supported by the Petroleum Law (Law No. 9,478/1997), the Federal Constitution, the National Environmental Policy, concession contracts and sector regulatory standards.  Among the obligations breached by the concessionaire is the presentation of the Area Return Plan (PDA), required for the safe closure of activities and recovery of explored areas. The ruling consolidated the understanding that the concessionaire's environmental responsibility must be subject to the integral risk theory. According to the thesis, companies that carry out potentially polluting activities are liable for environmental damage regardless of fault, and cannot attest to financial difficulties, economic unfeasibility or contractual disputes to rule out the duty to repair. The decision also reinforced that the termination of the concession contract does not extinguish the concessionaire's environmental obligations.  According to TRF 6, the public interest in protecting the environment and collective security must prevail in the face of concrete risks of environmental damage, establishing a relevant precedent for similar cases in the oil and gas sector. History Petra Energia operated in the exploration of oil and natural gas in areas granted by the ANP during the seventh round of bidding in the sector. Throughout the execution of the contracts, it drilled dozens of exploratory wells, most of them containing natural gas. Starting in 2010, the company began returning exploratory areas and, between 2011 and 2013, several wells were classified as temporarily abandoned. In 2019, after the ANP noted the loss of the financial and legal requirements necessary to maintain the concessions, the contracts were terminated. According to the agency, however, the areas did not undergo the necessary procedures for the definitive closure of activities nor the required environmental recovery.