PERU Seeks Foreign, Private Investments for Oil, Gas E&P Campaigns
By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme
In a bid to strengthen the oil and gas industry in the country, the Government of Peru is seeking foreign and private investors to explore and manage efficiently its hydrocarbon resources in an environmental and socially responsible way.
Peru’s proven oil reserves reached 349Mb (million barrels) at the end of 2019, up 4.19Mb from a year earlier and a second annual consecutive increase after breaking a four-year dip, according to a report.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Energy Republic’s Managing Editor, NDUBUISI MICHEAL OBINEME at the sideline of the 28th World Gas Conference 2022 in Daegu, South Korea, Jeancarlo Brena, Third Secretary Embassy of Peru in South Korea, stated that Peru has enormous hydrocarbon resources, but, there hasn’t been enough investment to deepen exploration and production activities in driving the country’s oil and gas industry for growth opportunities and economic prosperity.
Speaking further, Brena revealed that Peru has huge potential for gas export following its recent discoveries, noting that the gas reserves in the country could be greater than Bolivia and Argentina’s gas resources.
In his words, “Peru has always used hydropower for energy generation in the past years. Hydropower contributes about 55% to our energy mix. But, we are trying to convert our energy to gas because we have a lot of gas potential.
“We have a lot of hydrocarbon resources but not many exploration activities going on. Though there are discoveries and the Mar de Grau’s sea is completely unexplored and we believe that we can find oil and gas there.
“We need infrastructures to develop our gas resources. We can explore a lot in these areas but it would take a little bit of time. The good thing about Peru for investors is very friendly for any investment. We don’t have many problems with companies these days.
Speaking about the incentives for investors, he added, “We don’t have much tax rates compared to other South American countries. We have a great legal framework that helps us a lot now. The problem with Peru is that we didn’t promote much about our oil and gas industry in the past years but we will be promoting it going forward.”
“The Government of Peru is seen as a socialist. The Government is developing a robust legal framework and providing an enabling environment for investors”
“We are open to any company. We are already working with Australian, Canadian, European, American, and Asian companies. We have a lot of Chinese companies as well.
“We represent a great opportunity for African companies. Africa has a lot on the Continent. There is a lot of oil and gas in Africa too.
“We invite African companies to take a look at the opportunities in our oil and gas industry and see if they want to invest. Peru wants to generate more revenues.
“Private companies are welcome and will be very happy to work with us. Peru’s oil and gas industry is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to invest in our country.”
