The latest spill dumped approximately 6,000brl into the rainforests of the Machiguenga Communal Reserve on 24 November; in protest, hundreds of Machiguenga Indians launched a river blockade.
The pipelines were constructed in 2003-04 by Techint, whose engineering and construction arm built the pipelines and whose energy division is a partner in Transportadora Gas de Peru (TGP), the company formed to finance and operate them. Group member Tenaris was responsible not only for manufacturing the pipes but also for all the logistics involved in delivering the pipes to their point of installation for this extraordinary infrastructure project.
The Camisea field is located in Cuzco, 431km east of Peru’s capital, Lima. The project is divided into two pipelines: the gas pipeline is 731km long and made up of 34-in, 24-in, and 18-in diameter pipes. This line is initially transporting 285m cuft/d. The second pipeline, of 10 and 14in diameter, carries condensate, and is initially transporting 50,000brl/d.
At the inauguration ceremony in 2004, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, accompanied by Jaime Quijandria, Minister of Mines and Energy, remarked, “When I visited this place last year, it was an arid desert: now it is a centre of high-tech operations.” Moreover, President Toledo recognized the various benefits the Camisea project has brought and will continue to bring to the Peruvian economy. Its construction generated 8,000 jobs with an estimated 30,000 indirect employment opportunities. The pipeline’s operations have increased the country’s GDP by around 1%, and the pipeline is also producing savings of nearly $1,900m/yr thanks to a reduction in the country’s hydrocarbon imports.