PetroTal, a Peru-focused oil and gas company, aims to increase its oil production by approximately 30% in 2025, targeting an average output of between 21,000 and 23,000bopd.
The company reported annual average production of 17,733bopd in 2024, up from 14,248bopd the previous year.
This comes alongside the approval of a 2025 capital budget of $140m by PetroTal's board of directors, a 14% decrease compared with the $163m budget in 2024.
The budget includes $55m for drilling and workover activities, with a focus on four development wells at the Bretana and Los Angeles oilfields, a decline from the seven wells drilled in 2024.
The Bretana field is located within Block 95 in the Loreto region onshore Peru, while the Los Angeles field lies in Block 131 within the Ucayali Basin.
A further $60m has been allocated for field infrastructure upgrades at Bretana. These upgrades aim to enhance fluid handling capacity and construct new drilling cellars to support ongoing expansion.
Additionally, $36.5m will be invested in erosion control measures at Bretana, with approximately 75% categorised as operating expenses.
PetroTal president and chief executive officer Manuel Pablo Zuniga-Pflucker commented: “PetroTal is well positioned to build on the operational momentum that we established in 2024. We are firmly committed to a consistent return of capital policy, while maximising the value of the Bretana oil field. We are one of very few companies in the oil and gas sector that can support a stable dividend while growing output by more than 20% year after year.
“In addition to our active development programmes at both the Bretana and Los Angeles fields, PetroTal is also expanding its exploration activities in the Ucayali Basin, where we recently secured an extension to our Block 107 license contract and signed two new TEA’s adjacent to Block 131. Lastly, our budget also includes erosion protection measures for our key producing asset, a project that should be completed by the second quarter of 2026.”
The 2025 capital programme also includes $4m for exploration activities. This includes permitting and road construction at Block 107, following an extension secured for the fifth exploration period to advance the Osheki-Kametza prospect. Block 107 lies 130km from the company’s Block 131.
Exploration efforts will also commence on the XCVII and XCVIII technical evaluation agreements near Block 131, which reconstitute its historical boundaries at no cost.
At Block 95, PetroTal will reassess its exploration strategy while awaiting environmental impact assessment approval for its 2D seismic survey.
The company is also considering a slim-hole exploration drilling programme in 2026 as a faster and more cost-effective method to de-risk key structures south of the Bretana field.
