RIO DE JANEIRO, July 30 (Reuters) - Brazilian

prosecutors, who have recommended that environmental agency

Ibama block drilling by state-run oil company Petrobras near the

mouth of the Amazon river, has demanded that Ibama respond

within three days, a document seen by Reuters shows.

The federal prosecutors office (MPF), an independent agency,

filed a July 22 notice that appeared on Ibama's system on

Monday, warning without citing a date that an unjustified delay

in replying could have "civil, administrative and penal"

consequences.

Petrobras, MPF and Ibama did not immediately respond to

requests for comment.

In May 2023, Ibama denied Petrobras' request for an offshore

drilling license for the Foz de Amazonas area off the coast of

Amapa state. The oil company appealed soon after. The Equatorial

Margin at the northern end of the area is Brazil's most

promising oil frontier, sharing geology with nearby Guyana,

where Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) is developing huge fields.

Ibama President Rodrigo Agostinho said last month he

expected a decision soon.

Last August, prosecutors recommended that Ibama deny the

appeal, citing possible harm to local Indigenous communities and

the environment.

The prosecutors' notice to Agostinho said it is the duty of

those who receive their recommendations to reply, and that not

doing so could be punishable with a prison sentence of one to

three years, in addition to a fine.

The Petrobras plan has opened a rift in President Luiz

Inacio Lula da Silva's government between environmentalists and

advocates for regional expansion of the oil and gas industry.

Petrobras and Lula have been pressuring Ibama to issue the

license, with Lula saying in June that he will not to "throw

away any opportunity to make this country grow."