The new boss of Brazil’s Petrobras said that it was crucial that the state-run company “accelerate” oil exploration, including in a controversial offshore basin near the mouth of the Amazon River.

Former regulator Magda Chambriard took over as chief executive of the oil giant on Friday, after left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sacked her predecessor.

In her first press conference, the 66-year-old said exploring “new frontiers” was key to the company’s survival, touching on an issue which has divided the Lula administration and infuriated environmentalists.

“This company’s exploratory effort... has to be accelerated,” she said.

“The focus is ensuring that Petrobras’ oil assets continue to grow. This means it is essential to continue exploring oil off the Brazilian coast. This includes the Equatorial Margin and the Amapa coast,” she said.

The Equatorial Margin is a basin near the mouth of the Amazon River, that is considered Brazil’s most promising frontier for oil exploration, with studies suggesting it holds massive crude deposits.

It lies near regions in Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname that have recently made major oil discoveries.

However, environmentalists warn of potentially devastating impacts on the ecologically sensitive region.

The project has triggered a battle within the Lula administration and the environmental protection agency, IBAMA, denied Petrobras an exploration license in May last year.

Environmental groups have long opposed crude oil exploration projects in the area where the Amazon meets the Atlantic Ocean, warning that it could pose risks to a freshwater barrier reef discovered there in 2016.