"Brazil prosecutors examine whether BP’s ethanol plant caused environmental damage in the state of Tocantins", 10 July 2026

...According to complaints submitted anonymously to the Tocantins State Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-TO) in September 2025 and first reported by Jornal Opção Tocantins, the installation of a water pipeline intended to irrigate sugarcane plantations and supply water to Pedro Afonso Bioenergia’s biofuel plant allegedly altered the natural flow of local waterways, destroyed springs, and affected fish breeding areas in the Tocantins River.

In May 2026, a new complaint, filed by the estate of the owner of part of the land where the project is being carried out, accused the company of clearing approximately 5,000 hectares of the Cerrado biome—the equivalent of approximately 7,000 football fields—to establish crop rotation areas intended for irrigation. The deforestation allegedly took place without environmental studies proportionate to the scale of the intervention.

...Pedro Afonso Bioenergia denied any wrongdoing and said the works are part of “a standard agricultural irrigation project” licensed by Naturatins (the state environmental agency), and monitored by the competent authorities.

...Pedro Afonso Bioenergia reiterated the arguments presented to the MP-TO but did not answer questions regarding the impacts of the water pipeline system or the allegation that 5,000 hectares had been cleared. The company also did not respond to questions about whether it had consulted the Xerente Indigenous people who live in the region (read the full response here)...

Another issue involving Pedro Afonso Bioenergia’s irrigation project concerns its potential impacts on the Xerente Indigenous Territory...

The continuation of the licensing process without that opinion would, according to the Student Front, violate International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169 and Article 231 of Brazil’s Federal Constitution...

BP is a publicly traded company whose shares are listed on the world’s major stock exchanges. Asked by Repórter Brasil about the allegations, BP shareholders did not comment directly on the potential environmental damage allegedly caused by the multinational’s Brazilian subsidiary.

One of the company’s largest shareholders is Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund on behalf of the Norwegian government. In a statement to Repórter Brasil, NBIM said only that it maintains climate and nature guidelines for all companies in its portfolio, but does not comment on individual investments (read the full response here)...

According to data from LSEG, the global financial markets infrastructure and data provider, investment managers BlackRock, Elliott, and Vanguard ranked among BP’s largest shareholders in 2025. None responded to Repórter Brasil‘s requests for comment...