Canadian independent PetroTal plans to ship a 220,000 bl cargo of its Peruvian crude by barge along the Amazon river to Brazil next month to test the viability of the route.
The new test route is part of a broader plan that includes a $100mn bond issuance that launches 14 January. Norwegian investment bank Pareto Securities is coordinating the issuance.
The bulk of the funds raised will go toward more than doubling production of 18.6º API crude to 20,000 b/d from the Bretaña field on its block 95 in Loreto in northern Peru. The company would also pay down part of its $16.6mn in debt with state-owned PetroPeru.
PetroTal and other producers in Peru’s northern jungle rely on PetroPeru’s 100,000 b/d northern oil pipeline to transport crude to the Pacific coast for export. But the 1,100km pipeline from the jungle to Bayovar has faltered for years because of ruptures, sabotage and blockades by indigenous communities. Several of the communities abandoned a pumping station at the end of December after an 85-day blockade to protest a lack of government aid.
Other companies in the northern jungle include Argentina’s Pluspetrol on block 8, Anglo-French Perenco on block 67 and Canada’s Frontera on block 192. These three companies shut in production when the pandemic began in March and their operations remain suspended.
PetroTal was averaging 9,500 b/d at block 95 at the start of 2020, but ended the year at 5,600 b/d after shutting in production for several months.
