Horizons. Peru’s largest oil field, Lot 192, will resume operations in the next three months after Perupetro positively rated Petroperú’s investment partner.
Perupetro announced that Altamesa Energy Canada received its qualification to be the operating partner of Petroperú in the joint exploitation of Lot 192, the country’s most important field. This qualification was key as the private firm will assume all investments.
In a conversation with La República, the president of Perupetro, Isabel Tafur Marín, indicated that Altamesa’s positive rating took place in the last week of August and that the transfer of contractual participation is currently being worked on.
“Petroperu must work with us and confirm that it is transferring part of its participation in favor of Altamesa. Then a new supreme decree must be issued approving the transfer and authorizing the signing of the contract,” explained the head of Perupetro.
Currently, Petroperú is the holder of the former Lot 1-AB in Loreto, where it carries out some activities that do not directly involve its exploitation. According to regulations, the decree authorizing the partnership between the oil company and Altamesa must be published within the following 60 days after its positive rating.
However, Perupetro expects to have the process completed in the coming weeks to the point that Lot 192, considered the largest in Peru, would be producing crude again “in November or at the latest in the first or second week of December.”
Tafur clarified that initially, the field will have minimal production because, like Lot 8, it was found “abandoned to its fate with closed wells and many stolen equipment.” However, it is not yet clear whether Perupetro or Petroperú will assume the losses.
“We still do not have an advance on that because there are things to look at and appraise well. I believe that Altamesa’s entry will help us a lot,” emphasized Tafur.
Source: La República