Andoas
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Andoas is a city in the Loreto Region of Peru. It is located very close to the Ecuadorian border. It is located 696 km. (435 mi.) from the regions capital, Iquitos. It is located at around . It is located almost exactly 200 miles south of the equator.
It is served by the Alferez FAP Alfredo Vladimir Sara Bauer Airport.
Andoas is the site of numerous petroleum wells and processing facilities operated by Petrol Peru, Corporacion Petrolera as well as other Peruvian based and international corporations. There is also a Peruvian military base located there as well. Numerous communities along the Rio Tigre, Rio Corrientes, and Rio Pastanza, which share watersheds with the wells in this region, argue that chemicals used in the discovery, extraction, and processing of oil have contaminated their water killing fish, causing skin irritation and possibly even diseases such as cancer. However these claims have not been substaniated by an independent third party.
On the night of Feb. 16, more than 400 Achuar, Quechua and mestizo residents of Andoas in Loreto region occupied an airfield of the Argentine oil company Pluspetrol and tried to block a small plane of the Aero Condor airline from landing there. At midnight on Feb. 18, the protesters lifted the blockade after reaching an agreement with the company. The protesters also abandoned plans to occupy the Pluspetrol offices, an electrical plant and the Petroperu No. 1 pumping station. In the accord, Pluspetrol agreed to finish several infrastructure projects in March which it had promised since 2004. A technical team will be sent to evaluate the contamination of local rivers, for which residents are demanding compensation. [El Comercio (Peru) 2/19/06]