Peru will call an international tender this year to develop the world-class Camisea natural gas project, probably in the second half.
Jorge Camet, former finance minister and currently president of the Camisea executive committee, on behalf of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, said on Mar. 23 that details of the tender would be announced "in a couple of weeks."
State petroleum agency Perupetro is working with Peru's Camisea executive committee, which is preparing the international tender for the Camisea project. The committee estimates the tender will be held in September-October, although it has not yet released details.
Fujimori said, however, that the winner of the tender will be granted the concession to exploit the gas and liquids and to transport gas from Camisea, 500 km due east of Lima, to a point on Peru's coast. The president said the concession will be granted before the end of this year, and work would get under way in 2000. He also said the gas would arrive to a location on the coast by 2003.
The president did not reveal plans for the distribution of the gas. The government, after the combine of Royal Dutch/Shell and Mobil Corp. withdrew from the $3 billion project in July 1998, had announced it would divide the project into four stages: development, transportation, distribution, and power generation. Interested companies have been telling the committee, however, that this system is unlikely to be acceptable.
Shell-Mobil still interested
Both Shell and Mobil have reiterated their interest in the project, although their participation in the tender will depend on the terms of reference.A Shell-Mobil contract with the Peruvian government to develop Camisea ended July 16, 1998, on failure to reach agreement on what Shell, the operator, called "crucial issues" before moving into the development stage (OGJ, July 27, 1998, p. 20). The issues included the cost of the gas, estimated by Shell-Mobil at $2.50/MMBTU at the wellhead; a potential gas market for production; and the government's refusal to allow the consortium to participate in gas distribution, or to discuss future exports until the next stage of the contract was signed.
The Camisea committee has received a series of studies on the Camisea project from consultants but has not made these public.
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