An island of industry in a sea of green in the Brazilian Amazon, hundreds of kilometers from the nearest major city, lies the Urucu Oil Province. This is Brazil's largest onshore reserve of oil and natural gas, discovered by the state-run company Petrobras on October 12, 1986.%%CITE_1%% The operation is spread across a concession area of 332 square kilometers, but the industrial footprint is surprisingly small.%%CITE_2%% To operate in one of the most ecologically sensitive regions on the planet, Petrobras developed a system that avoids building roads, which are a primary driver of deforestation.
Access to the facility is almost exclusively by air. A fleet of aircraft transports the roughly 3,200 employees from cities like Manaus for 14-day work shifts. All equipment, from modular drilling rigs to daily food supplies, is flown in by helicopter. This complex aerial ballet is the logistical backbone of an operation that produces about 10,000 barrels of very high-quality, light oil and over 11 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. The oil has a gravity of 58 API, similar in quality to that extracted in the Middle East.
Engineering with the environment in mind
The central challenge at Urucu is extracting hydrocarbons with minimal impact. Petrobras follows a set of strict protocols, many based on recommendations from scientists who studied the area before drilling began. One strategy is the use of "well clusters." Instead of clearing large areas for single wells, multiple directional and horizontal wells are drilled from a single, small clearing, fanning out underground to reach different parts of the reservoir. This technique, combined with advanced horizontal drilling technology, dramatically reduces the amount of surface deforestation required. Within the concession, only 2% of the jungle has been cleared.