Page 18 - LatAmOil Annual Review 2021

LatAmOil AUGUST LatAmOil

(Photo: Twitter/@PedroCastilloTe)
Castillo begins to reveal

new vision for PetroPerú

Peru’s new president wants the national oil company to expand its portfolio and gain

control over fuel prices but says it must compete against private sector operators

PEDRO Castillo, the new president of Peru, supply feedstock to the Peru LNG plant, which
WHAT: ran for office on a platform that called for major is located in Pampa Melchorita.
The president wants the changes in the country’s hydrocarbon sector. Even so, Castillo’s position is hardly surpris-
NOC to regain some of the Most significantly, he indicated that he ing. After all, he was the candidate of the left-
assets it lost to privatisa- favoured proposals for returning oil and gas – ist Peru Libre Party, which has been calling for
tion in the 1990s. along with mining, another key sector of the nationalisation of the hydrocarbon and mining
economy – to state control. Earlier this year, for industries since 2019.
WHY: example, he argued that the Camisea gas fields At this point, though, it’s not clear that
Making this shift may ought to be handed over to the government. the new president will actually push for full
involve constitutional More specifically, he told supporters that the nationalisation.
reforms. fields were a strategic resource that ought to be
nationalised so that they could benefit Peruvians Expanding PetroPerú
WHAT NEXT: rather than foreign investors. Castillo made his first official statements regard-
The changes may not Such a shift could have far-reaching effects, ing oil and gas policy on July 28, during his inau-
have long-term staying including but not limited to complicating rela- gural address.
power, giving Peru’s con-
tentious political climate tionships with foreign investors. The Camisea In that speech, he said he intended to restore
and Castillo’s plan to fields are being developed by a consortium the ability of PetroPerú, the national oil com-
serve one five-year term. that includes US-based Hunt Oil, which is pany (NOC), to act as a vertically integrated
also the leader of the Peru LNG project; they organisation, active in every section of the

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