By Carlos A. Moreno

Urucu, Brazil, Apr 26 (EFE).- Urucu Oil Province, a giant oil field embedded in one of the best preserved regions of the Amazon, supplies cooking gas to half of the Brazilian territory.

Petrobras feels proud, as it assures that the exploitation of hydrocarbons within the world's largest tropical rainforest is sustainable.

The Urucu Oil Province, where Petrobras has been producing gas and oil for 35 years and expects to continue exploiting until at least 2042, consists of a set of tiny islands of steel and cement in an area of 332 square kilometers (206 square miles) of jungle.

The company has seven concessions in the region, of which only 2% has been subject to deforestation.

Access is only by boat or plane

Petrobras invited a group of journalists to showcase the field, located in one of the most isolated regions of the Amazon, accessible only by plane or boat.

The invitation comes amid controversy over the exploitation of a marine area near the estuary of the Amazon River.

Despite being Brazil's third-largest gas-producing field, the Urucu region remains relatively preserved.

According to Petrobras, this fact makes the veto on oil exploitation, recently discussed at a meeting of Amazonian presidents in August 2023, irrelevant.

"We heard the proposal from the president of Colombia (Gustavo Petro), but here we demonstrate that it is possible to produce oil in the heart of the Amazon with absolute respect for the environment," said Petrobras' manager for production in onshore and shallow water fields, Francisco Queiroz to EFE.

According to Queiroz, Petrobras produces hydrocarbons that generate wealth and employment in one of Brazil's poorest regions without destroying or threatening the Amazon.

"We are willing to talk and to show environmental agencies and national or foreign institutions that it is possible to produce without harming the environment," he said.

Despite the difficult conditions, Petrobras produces 15 million cubic meters of natural gas per day in Urucu, which are transported by a 663-kilometer (411-mile) pipeline that crosses the jungle and provide 65% of the electricity consumed by the 2 million inhabitants of Manaus.

80,000 kitchen gas cylinders

Supplying the entire north and part of the northeast of Brazil, 80,000 kitchen gas cylinders are produced daily, along with 10,000 barrels of light oil per day, whose quality (58 API) is similar to that extracted by Arab countries.

Queiroz explained that Petrobras ensured preservation in Urucu by following the recommendations of a group of scientists who visited the region before the company drilled its first well.

"They had a plan for the oil extraction in the heart of the jungle with the minimum damage, and we were fully compliant," he said.

The scientists developed a decalogue that, among other rules, obliges Petrobras to minimize road construction, discourage the emergence of urban centers, hire labor from neighboring cities, prepare an inventory of existing flora before any activity, and restore deforested areas.

As the only existing roads interconnect the 80 active wells, the approximately 3,200 employees, divided into two groups with 14-day work shifts and 14 days off, are transported from Manaus or Carauari by planes with daily flights.

Teams, materials, and even food are sent from Manaus on barges that take between seven and 10 days to arrive, depending on the navigability conditions of the Urucu River.

It is not unusual to see wild animals, including jaguars and caimans, roaming the facilities, thanks to preservation efforts,

In order to reforest idle areas, Petrobras has nurseries where it propagates 90 native species, including orchids and bromeliads, allowing it to plant 1.4 million plants in 35 years.

All waste from the hub, including liquids reaching 150 tons per month, is sent to Manaus by boat. EFE

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