CAPITAL: Lima
MONETARY UNIT: New Sol
REFINING CAPACITY: 182,250 b/cd
OIL PRODUCTION: 120,000 b/d
OIL RESERVES: 800 million bbl
GAS RESERVES: 7 tcf
Copri, Peru`s privatization commission, made slow but determined progress in privatizing Petroperu`s assets.
Petroperu planned to sign contracts to privatize the operation of its oil terminals in early 1998. The next echelon of assets included stakes in the Talara oil refinery, concessions to the North Peruvian Pipeline, and the Conchan and Iquitos refineries. These were under evaluation in early 1998.
Upstream developments
Shell Prospecting & Development Peru was to award a $2 billion contract for development of the Camisea gas project in the Ucayali basin to a group of Bechtel, local firm Cosapi, and Odebrecht. Shell Peru expected to begin appraisal drilling and market studies in mid-1998.
Camisea`s reserves of more than 10 tcf of gas and 725 million bbl of condensate are due to be exploited initially for power generation projects and later for development of a natural gas market in Lima, 325 miles to the west.
There was a hint that Shell might be looking at markets other than Peru for Camisea gas. Shell International and Enron were high bidder for YPF Bolivia`s privatized Transportadora de Hidrocarburos, which is part of the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline project.
