Petroperú signs a contract to operate Lot 192 for 30 years

Petroperú and Perupetro signed the License Agreement for the Exploitation of Hydrocarbons -for a period of 30 years- of Lot 192, considered the largest oil field in the country, with total recoverable technical reserves of 127 million barrels (MMBO), as proven reserves of medium, light and heavy crude oil.

In this way, an important step is taken in the reactivation of oil activity in the Peruvian Amazon at the hands of Petroperú, a company that in December 2021 successfully began its return to oil production (upstream) with the administration of Lot I in the Talara basin, where it maintains optimal and sustained production.

As is known, in accordance with the License Agreement that will extend until 2053, Petroperú will assume the operation of Lot 192, the same one that has been paralyzed since February 2020, hand in hand with a strategic partner and contemplating a Social Fund for the development of the native communities in the area.

Through this fund, which was created as part of the agreements reached in the Prior Consultation process, the neighboring communities of the Pastaza, Corrientes and Tigre basins will be directly benefited, which will be able to manage their own projects for benefits of its inhabitants, once oil production resumes in this important lot.

Likewise, the signing of the contract will bring about the strengthening of Petroperú, since it will be the operating company of the most important lot in the country and will allow the State to increase national production by 25%, collecting royalties and transferring a higher canon to the Loreto region. It should be noted that it is the first time in the history of this lot that the State company assumes its operation, which, since its inception, has been operated by private companies.

The event, which was held in the Túpac Amaru Hall of the Government Palace, was attended by the President of the Council of Ministers, Alberto Otárola Peñaranda; the head of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Óscar Vera Gargurevich; the president of the Petroperú Board of Directors, Carlos Vives Suárez and the head of Perupetro, Isabel Tafur Marín. In addition, the regional governor of Loreto, Jorge Chávez Silvano, was present at the event, among other authorities, who highlighted this important milestone that will bring progress and development to the country, mainly in the Amazon.

"The relaunch of the oil industry in the Northern Jungle, with the reactivation of Lot 192, will strengthen a virtuous cycle for our energy security and the growth of the hydrocarbon industry for the benefit of communities and all Peruvians," Vives remarked. Suárez, prior to signing the License Agreement, which he considered historic for the company and the country.

Lot 192

Located in the district of Andoas, province of Datem del Marañón, districts of Tigre and Trompeteros, in the Loreto region, Lot 192 has an extension of 512,347,241 hectares, which includes what was Lot 1AB and incorporates additional areas for exploration.

This field is the one with the highest accumulated production in the Marañón basin, with 737 million barrels of oil produced, and is one of the highest-producing lots in the Peruvian jungle. Only between 2015 and 2020, a controlled production of 8.3 million barrels of oil was registered, generating an income for the State -from the sale of oil- for more than 98 million dollars.

It is expected that, after evaluating the state of Lot 192, after a long period of paralysis with wells closed and without production, and the execution of the rehabilitation of its infrastructure, in one year oil production activities can be restarted, the which will be destined to the New Talara Refinery, a modern Petroperú refining complex that has technology to process heavy and light crude oil to produce better quality fuels to supply the national market.

With the reestablishment of oil production, new direct and indirect jobs will be generated, inside and outside the contract area of the aforementioned oil lot, thus generating insertion opportunities for professionals and technicians in the country, with experience in the hydrocarbons sector.