Peru looks to drum up increased oil and gas investment

In the wake of the violent protests against Argentine oil company Pluspetrol in Peru, the Peru oil and gas sector sought to drum up some positive news stories about the sector on Wednesday. Beatriz de la Vega, Oil and Gas leader for Ernst Young Peru consulting, told reporters that EY Peru projects that investment in Peruvian oil and gas projects will reach $26.1 billion by 2020. Accoring to Ernst and Young’s report, 65.7% of the investments will be for natural gas exploration and exploitation, 20% for renewable energies investments, 13.8% for oil, and 0.5% for coal. De la Vega went on to explain that though EY projects that the growth of the oil and gas sector will slow in 2015, the growth rate is expected to double in 2016.

In related news, Peruvian business journal Gestión reported that Perúpetro has decided not to postpone the auction of six oil fields. According to Peruvian state oil company, approximately fifteen companies from around the world are interested in participating in the bidding process.

Perúpetro president Luis Ortigas told Gestión that he expects the auction to occur once an agreement has been negotiated with the indigenous people that seized fourteen oil fields in this same area at the end of January. Oil field 1AB, which will be the one up for auction, already produces between 15,000 and 17,000 barrels of oil per day. Ortigas added, “Various firms are interested in the 1AB field, because it is already being exploited it is an attractive field, seeing as how it already generates revenues.”  He explained that if not for the negotiations between the Presidential Council of Ministers and the indigenous groups in Loreto, he would auction the fields off today.