Petroperu Seeks Partner for Block 192 After Altamesa Withdraws

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Petroperu recently started a tender to select a new partner to develop Block 192, one of Peru's biggest oil assets. The announcement follows Altamesa Energy's (Montreal, Quebec) withdrawal from the project due to contractual issues.

Altamesa took more than 61% of the stakes at Block 192 in 2023, with plans to restart production at the oil field. However, in April, the energy company lost its stake in the asset after contractual failures that again handed Petroperu 100% of the stakes. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Plant Database can learn more about Block 192 from a detailed plant profile.

As a result, the Peruvian company has launched a tendering process that will close on May 30 to find a new partner and operator for the oil field. The minimum requirement for the new partner will be to drill at least 20 new oil wells.

Block 192 is located in the Loreto province, in the Amazon rainforest, and historically has been one of the most significant hydrocarbon assets in Peru. Yet, the field last produced oil in 2020, when it had an output of just more than 1,300 barrels of oil per day (BBL/d). In 2019, the asset produced oil at a pace of 6,700 BBL/d.

The previous owner of the asset, Frontera Energy (Calgary, Alberta), pulled out from the oil block in 2022 after facing significant opposition and protests from local communities. On several occasions, the local unrest impacted the operations of the oil field, including a 43-day protest in 2017 that halted production.

This is not an uncommon phenomenon in Peru. Communities use the closure of energy facilities to protest for better conditions, agreements and pollution reduction, among other goals. Last month, an Indigenous community blocked Petroperu and authorities from sealing a cut on Oleoducto Norperuano (ONP), the nation's largest oil pipeline.

Despite these setbacks, the state energy company announced that Block 192 contains 127 million recoverable oil reserves, and it could produce 12,000 BBL/d. The assets production will be transported by the ONP to the Pacific coast, where it will be refined at the 95,000 BBL/d Talara Refinery in Piura. Subscribers can read a detailed plant profile.

Throughout 2024, Peru produced oil at a pace of 40,600 BBL/d.

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