Gas de Camisea: massify first before renegotiating

Camisea gas has been exploited for 17 years. Part of the resource is used to generate electricity. However, the ideal is to massify its use in home connections in the main cities of the country.

The previous premier, Guido Bellido, raised renegotiate the contract with Camisea, a consortium of companies in charge of the exploitation and operation of gas fields. According to Bellido, this would benefit the country in terms of collection and expand coverage.

Is it feasible that more Peruvians have cheap gas at home and pay less? They all agree that it is. But a renegotiation does not seem like an immediate task. Several specialists ask first develop infrastructure to transfer gas to cities from the Camisea jungle.

Currently, there is only one pipeline that reaches the coast from the center. Hence, what can be transported by truck fuel is covered.

According to the regional manager of Energy and Mines and Hydrocarbons of the Regional Government of Cusco, Iván Prado, the State did not advance in massification projects in Cusco and southern Peru. In the imperial region, there are only two gas centers that supply 600 vehicles converted to natural gas. East costs less than liquid fuel (gasoline and oil).

South Peruvian Gas Pipeline

The South Peruvian Gas Pipeline was one of the projects to transfer gas to the southern cities: Cusco, Puno, Arequipa, Moquegua, etc. The work has been paralyzed since 2017 by the Lava Jato scandal. The current government did not give light to reactivate it despite an advance of almost 40%.

Prado recalls that the gas pipeline will have industrial use. It will supply dthermoelectric plants in Ilo (Moquegua) and in Arequipa. In Cusco, just the Cachimayo company that manufactures fertilizers. However, it was proposed that it supply the NGV stations that exist in San Jerónimo and San Sebastián. There it would be regasified to distribute it to homes.

Kepashiato

But, it is not the only project. There is also the Kepashiato natural gas liquids (LNG) fractionation plant in the province of La Convencion. This plant would manufacture 3,000 barrels of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) daily. It would be supplied with a connection from the gas pipeline in the center. The profile study developed by the Itansuca Consortium already exists.

According to the manager of Energy and Mines and Hydrocarbons, the execution of the project will be paid for in a tripartite way between the Regional Government of Cusco, the Amazon Mancommunity and the Ministry of Energy and Mines. At the moment the profile is available and in June of this year the region commissioned the company Inspectra SA with the technical file. The investment amounts to S / 150 million. “Our idea is that in September of next year the contract will be signed and the project will be developed in the next few years,” Prado said.

Each LPG bottle could be worth S / 25. The market would be, Cusco, Apurimac and Madre de Dios. It would represent a huge saving for Cusco families, especially for those who live around Camisea, who pay between S / 60 and S / 100 for a ball. The price rises for transportation. The product arrives from the fractionation plant in Pisco (Lima).

The regional councilor of La Convencion, María Regina Becerra, indicated that a commission of the Cusco Regional Council has already initiated coordination so that the Kepashiato authorities provide a plot of land for the plant.

This project does require a negotiation with the Camisea Consortium. They need to connect to the main pipeline and transfer the liquids to Kepashiato through a branch.

Negotiations with Camisea must take place in order to obtain accessible raw material that affects a cheap gas cylinder. The plant is projected for 2024.

Another truncated gas massification project is Siete Regiones. It contemplates distributing natural gas in 14 cities for homes and industries. The concession has not aroused interest from the private sector. According to Prado, the tender promoted by the MEM and ProInversión was declared void in July of this year because the three bidders, including Cálidda, did not submit their bids. Today, the MEM has reformulated the project to go from 25 thousand connections to 100 thousand for Cusco and thus increase from 1.4 million home connections nationwide to at least 4 million with the other regions that are considered in the project . The tender has not yet been launched.

Trade cheap liquids

The regional governor of Cusco, Jean Paul Benavente, pointed out that, although the responsibility for the massification of gas lies with the State, private companies must also be involved in it.

This is in clear mention of the Camisea Consortium, which should provide the raw material at a comfortable price to the Kepashiato liquid fractionation plant.