Unrest in Peru Hits Energy Infrastructure

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Tensions remained high in Peru, where more than a week of protests, following government change, has impacted the nation's energy infrastructure.

On Tuesday, a group of 100 protesters broke into the Kamani gas plant in Cusco, triggering the alarms of its operator, Transportadora de Gas del Peru (TGP) (Lima, Peru). The company said in statement it respected popular movements, but condemned any violence against its infrastructure that could risk the lives of others and its employees.

As a result of unrest at the plant, the company called the leaders of the protests to refrain from impacting infrastructure, and it set its contingency plan.

The Kamani gas plant is part of the Camisea natural gas project, one of Peru's largest natural gas fields, supplying about 40% of the nation's electricity and domestic demand. TGP transports, through Kamani, the output from the natural gas block.

Industrial Info's Global Marketing Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Pipelines Plant Database includes seven TGP plants, including four Camisea natural gas liquids (NGL) pump stations. Subscribers can click here for the plant profiles.

Peruvian natural gas production averaged 1.6 billion cubic feet per day in November, almost 7% higher than the previous month and the highest in at least a year.

Unrest in Peru was sparked following a political crisis that ended with the detention of former President Pedro Castillo. Last week, Castillo called for the dissolution of the Parliament over the possibility of impeachment. However, the head of state was later detained by the armed forces and imprisoned.

Since then, his vice president, Dina Boluarte, has assumed the country's presidency. She has called for early elections scheduled for April next year, though this has not appeased civilians protesting in support of Castillo.

The unrest has led to the burning of establishments, road blockades, infrastructure attacks and clashes with the security forces.

Since his detention, the country has faced unrest that has led to the death of at least 15 people and attacks on infrastructure. As a result, the new Peruvian government has called for a state of emergency and has deployed the armed services to safeguard critical infrastructure such as power plants.

It remains unclear how the protests will unfold, though the arrest of Castillo and the tension with the Parliament offer an insight into Peru's political instability. The South American country has had seven different presidents since 2016, showing the pressure within Peru's political establishment.

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