Minister Jorge Montero says natural gas reserves need to be increased.
Peru's Minister of Energy and Mines, Jorge Montero, said that there is interest on the part of companies from Saudi Arabia and Qatar to develop the petrochemical industry in the south of the Andean country, as discussed at the Future Minerals Forum, held from January 14 to 16 of this year in the city of Riyadh.
"We spoke with the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia (Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef) and the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Foreign Trade of Qatar (Ahmad bin Mohammed Al-Sayed), as well as the CEO of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation - SABIC (Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh) and the CEO of Manara Minerals (Pierre Chenard)," he said on Andina Canal Online.
"We have discussed the issue of Peru needing a petrochemical plant in the south, where Camisea and other fields in the gas belt of Peru are located. We are discussing the possibility of developing a petrochemical plant in Peru that would allow the production of fertilizers and other derivatives," he added.
Jorge Montero said that these meetings are already yielding results because last week his office received a letter from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia to begin immediate talks on the petrochemical industry.
“With Qatar, the issue is gas, and with Saudi Arabia, it is oil and minerals. Both are interested in petrochemicals and we will have to see with whom we finally reach agreements. This window of opportunity has opened in a generous and powerful way,” he said.
“The Foreign Ministry has done an extraordinary job opening doors, making contacts and allowing me to hold these dialogues, together with the team that accompanied me,” he added.
NATURAL GAS
The minister stressed the need to promote the exploration and exploitation of natural gas to sustain the petrochemical industry and the widespread use of residential housing.
"We want a sustainable petrochemical industry and a widespread use of gas in central and southern Peru. To do this, we need to increase our probable, proven and inferred reserves of methane gas, which is the natural gas we have in Peruvian territory," he said.
Jorge Montero said that they are meeting with the company Transportadora de Gas de Perú (TGP) about its 923-kilometer gas pipeline project that would supply the departments of Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna.
“We are also talking with TGP about the coastal gas pipeline that would carry gas for industrial and mining uses to Mollendo (Arequipa) and Ilo (Moquegua), and there is also the idea of having a line that connects with Arequipa to boost its industries at lower costs with gas that is much cheaper,” he said.
“We also have the Cálidda distribution project for seven regions that would benefit from a gas distribution service like the one in Lima and Callao, with 2.3 million connections and more than 10 million beneficiaries,” he added.
The minister explained that the seven regions that will benefit are Apurímac, Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, Junín, Puno and Ucayali, through the laying of pipes so that the distribution lines provide access to gas to the populations.
“Bringing this gas to seven regions with a cross-subsidy scheme is an excellent proposal. The gas should also reach Quillabamba, we are identifying an interesting opportunity and we will evaluate it,” he said.
