By an OGJ Online Correspondent
LIMA, Sept. 4 -- US firm Hunt Oil Co. is leading a feasibility study for Camisea natural gas exports that will be completed by yearend, said Carlos del Solar, general manager of Hunt Oil in Peru.
Investing in facilities for liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquids projects, which would include field and pipeline expansion, could double the Camisea project's cost, warn partners.
The cost of the Camisea development project, initially estimated at $1.1 billion -- approximately $400 million for the upstream sector and $700 million for transport and distribution of the gas and natural gas liquids -- is now estimated at around $1.6 billion.
Hunt Oil is a partner in both the development contract and the transportation and distribution contract for the Camisea projects. Argentina's Pluspetrol and Tecgas NV, a Techint unit, are the respective operators (OGJ Online, Dec. 11, 2000).
The feasibility study has identified liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquids technologies as possibilities, with the US, and California in particular, as a likely market.
The study sees recoverable proven and probable reserves at 7.4 tcf in San Martin and Cashiriari fields and an additional 5.8 tcf recoverable potential in the Camisea area. It estimates Peruvian demand over 20 years at 3.5 tcf (680 MMcfd in 2022) and 3.8 tcf for exports at 550 MMcfd over 20 years.
Meanwhile the consortium is evaluating two companies competing for distribution of natural gas in Lima and Callao -- Belgium's Tractebel and Colombia's Promigas (in which US company Enron Corp. is a partner).
The Camisea project is scheduled to begin operating by mid-2004, although contractors say they are aiming for end-2003.
