Petroleos del Peru has marked further progress on exploration and development in Peru by private foreign and domestic companies.
The state oil company at yearend 1991 signed agreements with a unit of International Petroleum Corp. (IPC), Vancouver, B.C., a combine of Peruvian firms Cavelcas del Peru and Geopet Asociadas SA, and VG Exploracion-Produccion SA.
The agreements came only a few weeks after Petroperu settled a long dispute with Occidental Petroleum Corp., which accounts for half the country's oil flow, over oil production and prices (OGJ, Dec. 23, 1991, p. 23).
IPC CONTRACT
IPC's Consolidated Eurocan Ventures Ltd. signed an exploration/development operations contract with Petroperu and the Peruvian Ministry of Mines and Energy for Block 16-A in Peru's central jungle.
Eurocan is the first company to sign an oil exploration contract under much improved terms aimed at stimulating foreign investment in Peru's petroleum industry (OGJ, Dec. 9, 1991, p. 27).
Terms call for a $16.7 million, 6 year exploration commitment, 350 line km of seismic survey, and six wells.
Production phases are 30 years for oil and 40 years for natural gas.
The 1.8 million acre block is at the junction of the Maranon, Ucayali, and Huallaga basins. It is immediately north of a producing area operated by Petroperu and east of a block operated by Mobil Oil Corp., where Mobil has spudded the first wildcat in the virgin Huallaga basin.
Eurocan said a number of undrilled prospects and structural leads have been identified with existing seismic data covering less than 50% of the block. It plans a study of all existing data before proceeding with additional seismic surveys.
Eurocan also is negotiating an agreement covering a 2.5 million acre block in Peru's Ene basin near undeveloped Camisea gas/condensate field. The exact area has not been defined and may be subject to preliminary studies before an agreement can be signed,
CALVECAS-GEOPET
The Calvecas-Geopet combine is taking over the 17,300 acre Block 1 in the Talara producing area on Peru's northern coast.
The two are to make an initial investment of $1,069,750 the first 2 years of a 20 year service contract. Work under that initial phase includes:
- Rehabilitating 100 abandoned wells.
- Reconditioning and stimulating another 25 wells that have not been abandoned.
- Drilling and completing 10 wells.
- Preparing secondary and tertiary enhanced recovery projects.
Work is to begin within 120 days of the Dec. 27, 1991, contract signing. Meantime, Petroperu will continue production, and the contractors will receive payment in cash for oil produced at a tariff to be established later with Petroperu.
Cavelcas-Geopet won a tender for the contract more than 2 years ago, but detailed negotiations had dragged on with Petroperu until an agreement under the government's new oil law was reached last November.
VG CONTRACT
VG's contract doubles size of the company's acreage in the Titicaca basin of Peru's southern Andes to about 2.5 million acres.
VG has been exploring Block S-2 since early 1990 and is completing the first 100 line km of seismic surveys there. The new contract adds Block S-3 to its spread.
VG's commitment for Block S-3 calls for it to spend $2.025 million in the initial exploration covering 4 years with an option to extend 2 years.
VG is required to complete geological, geophysical, and geochemical studies the first 6 months of the contract term. The following 12 months it must shoot and interpret 100 line km of seismic. Another 100 line km and two wildcats are called for in the subsequent 30 months. In an additional 9 month period, VG is required to drill two more wildcats.
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