EcoUrucu Project: Enhancement of Eco-efficiency of E&P activities in Amazon Forest

Abstract

Before Petrobras started its commercial oil production in the middle of the Amazon forest, in 1988, a group of Brazilian scientists established the highest world-wide sustainability standards for all E&P activities in this sensitive ecosystem. However, due to importance of Amazonian biodiversity and the others environmental services provided by the forest, Petrobras’ Research Center (CENPES), together with Brazilian scientific institutes, started a five year project to improve the eco-efficiency of Urucu oil and gas production province (located about 680 km southwest of Manaus) activities called EcoUrucu. This project deals with wide broad of subjects such as: water resources, solid waste and wastewater management, energy efficiency, gas emissions, reforestation, biodiversity, and soil erosion control. EcoUrucu project started in 2006 with thirteen studies, and during its development three more were added. Some of them had already been finished with results like the publication of a book about Urucu biodiversity, process plant energy efficiency analysis, evaluation of wastewater system and reuse proposition, process modification to reduce water use on process, and the reduction of solid waste generated from the food service. Local hydrogeology assessment, improvement of local pavement quality, advance of reforestation techniques, and soil erosion vulnerability assessment are some of the studies on going. This paper presents some the results already achieved by these studies. One of the conclusions is that a proactive approach related to environmental issues is the better way to guarantee the sustainability of Petrobras E&P activities in the Amazonian Region.