By an OGJ correspondent
LIMA, Oct. 8 -- Proinvestment, the government commission promoting privatization and concessions in Peru, is offering a take-or-pay contract for natural gas from the Camisea natural gas project, 500 km east of Lima.
Operators of the $1.3 billion Camisea project expect to begin producing and transporting natural gas and liquids to Lima by early August 2004.
The state's Electroperu signed the take-or-pay contract in January 2000 when private companies were unwilling to take the risk. Within a few weeks, Electroperu is expected to define the contract's quantity and duration.
Meanwhile, Proinvestment also is about to select an investment bank to help the promotion. Four banks have placed bids.
An amount has not been announced for the new contract, originally signed for 70 MMcfd.
Although still working on details for the tender, Proinvestment expects to request investors in a first stage to install a simple cycle generator with a minimum 200 Mw plus an additional 100 Mw to complete a 300 Mw combined cycle plant using the gas within 3 years.
In response to complaints from companies that previously invested in privatized state hydroelectric generators, government officials said that the Camisea project already existed when hydroelectric generators were promoted, so nothing is new.
The companies' main complaint was the decision to promote combined-cycle generators, which they claim will affect their business.
The take-or-pay contract primarily will benefit the electric power customer, who will get a lower tariff, said Luis Ortigas, president and director of the Camisea natural gas project.
The Camisea gas field consortium, led by field operator Pluspetrol SA, has invested $250-300 million in the project, said Norberto Benito, manager of Argentina-based Pluspetrol. Transportes de Gas del Peru (TGP), the natural gas transportation consortium led by Argentina's Tecgas—a Techint SA unit—has invested about $300 million on pipe and equipment. TGP will pipe the gas from Camisea to the city gate south of Lima. Belgium's Tractebel SA will then distribute the gas throughout Lima and Callao (OGJ, Sept. 23, 2002, p. 8).