June 2, 2022

10:06

Ívina Garcia and Gabriel Abreu – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The Environmental Protection Institute of Amazonas (IPAAM) embargoed an area and fined Petrobras for environmental crime, in a work of landfill of a stream on the premises of the Isaac Sabbá Refinery (Reman), located in the Industrial District, South Zone of Manaus. The amount of the fine was not disclosed.

The complaint made by the Amazonas Oil Workers Union (Sindipetro-AM), with the support of the Oil Workers Federation (FUP), last 27th, pointed out that the work could cause high environmental risks to the Amazon ecosystems.

The CENARIUM reporting team contacted Petrobras, but had not received a reply as of the publication of this article.

In addition to IPAAM, the complaint was also forwarded to the State Public Ministry (MPE-AM), Federal Public Ministry in Amazonas (MPF) and the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainability (Semmas).

“It is one more demonstration of the disregard and irresponsibility of the Bolsonaro Government against the environment and sustainability commitments. Reman is one more target of the destruction of the Brazilian patrimony”, stated the general coordinator of FUP, Deyvid Bacelar.

The general coordinator of Sindipetro-AM, Marcus Ribeiro, suspects that other environmental crimes are happening there. In an interview to CENARIUM, Ribeiro pointed to an oil leak near the dam.

In the evaluation of environmentalist Carlos Durigan, the impacts of a dam on a river or stream change the dynamics of water flow and can, in addition to impacting the landscape, harm ecosystems and local biodiversity. “For these reasons, infrastructure works in rivers and water bodies require licensing and also the establishment of mitigation actions for the impacts caused”.

Sale of Reman

On May 13, Reman’s sale to Grupo Atem was approved by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade). However, the transaction is not concluded and is also something of an appeal from oil tankers that question the low price of the agreement, which is 70% of the minimum market value, according to surveys by the Institute of Strategic Studies of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (Ineep).

Sindipetro-AM is against the sale of the refinery to a private group and warns about the importance of the refinery for the North Region.

“We are fighting for this process (of sale) not to happen, given the importance of this refinery for our state and our region. This is the only refinery in the North Region, it is the refinery that supplies all the states in our region, and what is being proposed is that if our refinery is sold, there will be a private monopoly. The group that buys the refinery will dictate the fuel prices,” he says.

According to Ribeiro, the sale of the refinery can have a direct impact on the logistics of the region, making access to services and products even more expensive.

“Our region has some differences compared to others, especially in logistics, so if the refinery is sold to a private group, this logistical cost impact will be reflected in the final price of fuel for the consumer,” he explains.