Description: To end oil industry dependence on river transportation, the Brazilian company Petrobras planned the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Urucu to Manaus in the Amazonas State, at the heart of the rainforest. The first route was completed in between Urucu and Coari. See more Later on, Petrobras announced its willingness to construct the second layout from Coari to Manaus but also to connect Urucu to Porto Velho, in the Rondonia State, also through a new natural gas pipeline.
It is in when local indigenous communities, fishermen, environmental associations and civil society organizations raised their voices, opposing the two pipeline projects.
Petrobras went on with its project and finalized the whole pipeline from Urucu to Manaus by the end of Even after the finalization of the pipeline, social opposition remained vivid due to the ongoing planning for the pipeline between Urucu and Porto Velho and also the gas pipeline between Jurua and Urucu. While the pipeline between Jurua and Urucu is still pending, the pipeline from Urucu to Porto Velho has been constructed, after a delay provoked by the 14 recommendations expressed by the Federal Public Ministry to Petrobras [3].
Amazon Watch and Friends of the Earth Brazil pointed out critics to the public hearings carried out by Petrobras in , critics expressed by the indigenous communities themselves [4]. This pipeline construction was justified by the need to provide energy to produce electricity in Manaus, and other municipalities. Manaus is the capital of the Amazonas State. Located in the middle of the rainforest, the state's capital records 2 million inhabitants.
Manaus fast and growing industrialization is at the origin of this expansion. The pipeline project is to be understood as part of a broader context where the rainforest fossil fuels' drilling is increasing. This trend was highly feared by environmentalists opposing the pipeline before its construction. As for instance, a gas plant was built in Urucu financed by JEMIX and an environmental impact assessment was carried out for the construction of a new gas pipeline connecting the isolated gas field of Jurua to Urucu.
