They transfer more than S / 29 million additional to maintain the South Gas Pipeline abandoned by Odebrecht

The Government of President Pedro Castillo authorized the transfer of an additional S / 29 million 393 thousand 428 for the administration of the assets of the concession of the project “Improvements to the country’s energy security and development of the South Peruvian Gas Pipeline”. That is, to take care of the tubes abandoned by Odebrecht until they can be delivered to a new bidder.

According to the resolution, in June 2021, the Supervisory Agency for Investment in Energy and Mining (Osinergmin) had warned the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) that, due to the volatility of the dollar, the S / 150 million destined for this task they would only last until the month of October.

Consequently, an extraordinary item of more than S / 29 million was requested to satisfy this new demand for the care of the pipelines, in charge of the company Estudios Técnicos SAS, which was finally accepted and processed by Minister Eduardo González Toro.

As it is recalled, in February 2017, during the Government of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), then in charge of Gonzalo Tamayo Flores, formalized the conclusion of the concession contract for the project “Improvements to the country’s energy security and development of the South Peruvian Gas Pipeline.”

According to the supreme resolution, said decision occurred after the consortium that made up Odebrecht did not prove “compliance with the financial closing within the established contractual term.” The document also signed by Kuczynski Godard indicated that the decision was made on January 24, 2017 and the contractual term that was established had expired the day before.

One day after the expiration of the term, the consortium responsible for the project, made up of the company Odebrecht and Enagás, paid US $ 65 million 625 thousand and, on January 27 of that same year, with a second payment, completed the penalty equivalent to US $ 262 million.

Since then, The Peruvian State has spent more than US $ 187 million on its maintenance alone, waiting for some other private sector bidder to resume the project. by purchasing the pipes of the frustrated but necessary South Peruvian Gas Pipeline.

What was the South Peruvian Gas Pipeline?

The South Peruvian Gas Pipeline was the most ambitious energy project in Peru, which proposed the construction of a 1,000-kilometer pipeline to transport natural gas from the Camisea field, in Cusco, to Moquegua by covering six regions of the country, an action that allowed to provide security in fuel supplies.