The proposal for a marine conservation unit in Brazil’s Amapa state does not affect the areas where Petrobras PETR3 intends to explore oil in the region known as the Equatorial Margin, environment minister Marina Silva said on Tuesday.

In a public hearing in the Senate, Silva assured that the proposal is old and was not “made up” to make oil exploration in the region, which is close to the mouth of the Amazon River, unfeasible.