Petroperu, the state-owned energy company of Peru, is holding talks with US and Asian oil producers with a view to importing around 63,000 barrels a day (bopd) of crude for its Talara refinery, reported Reuters, citing the president of the company’s board of directors, Pedro Chira.
The company expects to announce the winning oil companies next week.
The Talara refinery has recently been modernised and undergone a 46% expansion to process 95,000bopd.
Chira said: "We are looking at options within Latin America and also in North America and Asia. I think that in the next week we would be able to announce who our suppliers will be."
Presently, the Talara refinery is in a start-up phase following a $5bn (18.22bn sol) upgrade that commenced in 2014.
The refinery is expected to achieve complete capacity from mid-July, Chira added.
Peru presently produces about 41,000bopd of crude. However, the oil demand in the country is 250,000bopd, as per the official data. Hence, it needs to import crude for its refinery as well as other fuel products.
Once Talara reaches its complete capacity, the state oil company expects to return to positive net profit from 2025, having taken loans and issued bonds to fund the Talara modernisation. Petroperu was analysing a financing plan of around $1.2bn, which includes potential bonds and credit lines, if it experiences any issues related to cash flow.
"The company's intention is not to have state support for this 2023, which is a critical year," Chira said.
Petroperu intends to generate oil at the country's largest oil field, block 192, from 2024, following the recent award of a three-decade concession. For the first time since the 1990s, the state oil company is returning to crude oil extraction.
This month the company hopes to get approval from the regulatory authorities for a possible strategic partner, Canadian company Altamesa Energy, to develop the block, which has previously faced some issues associated to pollution.
Petroperu also expects to be involved in developing other lots in the country’s northern region, as well as in lot 64 in Marañón, where currently an environmental impact study is being undertaken that is due to be finished in 2025.
